Rose
by isabella1320
Summary: Set after DMC5, Nero went on with his business in Devil May Cry Branch. On one job thought to be like a simple task, he got dragged into a totally different world where he met a mysterious young girl claimed to his mother. Not only that, she also said that she would help him to get out of this world seemed to have no way to escape. *Cross posted at AO3*
1. prologue

Epilouge:

"Lady, where the hell am I going?"

Nero spoke on the phone when he looked at the surrounding, he had drove for the last one hour and he hadn't seen a single soul, human nor demon. The voice of the woman on the phone said back to him:

"A ghost town."

"Yeah, that much I can tell." Nero snickered when he see the road had run down badly. "I intended to say that this shitty place has nothing but shit, but there was not even a shit in here."

"No animal or anything right?"

"Yeah."

"Nero, naturally in an abandoned town, you were supposed to see some kind of animal." Lady said. "Rat, dog or hyena, something must be there right."

Then Nero paid a close attention, he realized that Lady got a point. There was no living creature here, not even a rat run through the road a bird that fly on the sky. It was not like a ghost town, but more like a dead town.

"So what is this business that you said again?"

"An old acquaintance of mine asked me if I could ask you to do him a job, said that there was something; quoted exactly what he said "unnatural about this town" and asked for you, specifically to investigate it."

"Why didn't he just come to me?"

"He is not good with strange people, and really, really hates to go out." Lady said. "But he is rich, trustworthy and he paid handsomely for me just to get you to do the job. You saw the check I gave you, it only a half of what will be paid for you when you done taking some picture for him. Your business lately hadn't going that well lately and a good fortune like this is hard to deny."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Nero sighed, the money was good. Like too well for just going to some town and took some picture. But he needed some cash to support him and Kyrie so Nero had to bite it. This place was odd; Nero thought when he stopped his car in front of a ruined trailer. The man who gave this job gave some information about what he wanted to investigate at, like this run down golden trailer.

Nero saw the golden paint peeling on the car and opened the door, dust blown into his face making him cough lightly when he waved the air. Nero saw inside the van, now this was officially weird.

Inside the van, instead of being dusty and filthy as he thought it should be, it was spotless and perfect like it was new. Nero touched the small wooden coffee table that was spotless, the small bed with flower blanket and a small crib next to it. There was somebody live in this trailer, but he was not sure where that person was. He looked around, judging by the feminine touch; he guessed that this was a girl, a very young girl when he saw a lot of flower decorating around.

Nero searched around the trailer and found a picture in a closet, he saw a baby wrapped in black blanket. Behind the picture, there was a small note:

"_Nero, two weeks old."_

Nero eyes widened when he saw the picture. Before he could think anything else, he felt the ground shaken as if there was an earthquake.

"Shit."

Nero said when he ran to leave the trailer, as the door opened, a blinding light engulfed making he closed his eyes shut. When Nero opened his eyes, he couldn't believe in his own eyes when he saw himself was standing in an opened green grass field.

"What the..."

Nero said when he fell the tall grass lightly touched his hand when he spun around looking. There was nothing around here, no trailer, not his truck or any building. Nero would have thought this was a dream if it was not the fact that he was still holding the baby picture on his hand.

Suddenly, he heard a noise of growling and the distinguish of rotten smell of demon, he saw a pack of Empusa started to walk to him.

"Well, couldn't say I didn't see this coming."

Nero said when he shove the picture deep in his pocket, he draw out his Blue Rose and started shooting at them. The Empusa were simple, he could easily handle them when he lost one arm, there was no problem when he got two arms back. Even though there was too much of them, Nero thought when he kept seeing them coming, just like they were just appearing out of thin air. Drawing back his Blue Rose, Nero pulled out his Red Queen when he saw a massive mantis-looking like creature crawling to him. What the hell was this place; Nero thought when he swing sword at the Empusa Queen, it looked like it just appeared from nowhere.

As Nero slayed down the Empusa Queen, slightly out of breath as he stood alone waited for anything to attack him. Nero flung his sword as he heard small footstep, but stopped at midway when he saw a young girl in black blazer and short pants stood there. Still keeping his sword up, Nero asked:

"Who are you?"

"I am Rose the Magician, pleasure to meet you." The girl said when she smiled at him and slightly bowed down in stylish with her hand on her top black hat.

"What is this place?" Nero asked when he carefully looked at her. Higher demon could take human form, she could just be a disguised demon.

"We call it The Trap."

"What?"

Nero said when the girl moved away from his sword with a graceful move that could make a cat jealous as she walked to the corpse of Repusa.

"You killed them yourself." The girl said when she poked at the dead demon. "That was impressive. When I first got here, I got torn apart by them."

"What?"

Suddenly, the girl looked up to the sky like and then quickly moved back from the body. A white flash of light bloom making Nero slightly hissed as his eyes watered. When he adjusted his eyesight, he saw the bodies were gone and the mess of the battle field was completely gone. No blood, no fallen grass, no gun shot or sword mark. Like there was nothing happened.

"Where the hell am I?" Nero asked in disbelieve when he saw his cloth was slightly tainted by blood now completely clean.

"Someone used to offer to call this place the Asylum, but in the end it worse than the Asylum." Rose sighed when she walked away. "At least you can escape from an Asylum."

Nero watched as the girl walked further away from him, he gritted his teeth lightly when he ran after her.

"Hey, what is this place?"

"I told you, we call it The Trap." Rose said. "It was a place when you got in, you can't get out. Like a Trap."

"Like hell." Nero said. "I am getting out of here."

"Sure, you will." Rose said when she smiled at him softly. "I will help you."

"You will?"

"I will help you get out of here." Rose said again. "But first, we need to go to the Camp. In there you could have a more thoroughly explain, and a safe place to stay."

Nero looked at the girl as she silently hummed a small tune before he followed her, he decided that for now he would trusted her temporarily.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 2:

"Sister Rose, you came back."

Nero raised his brow lightly when he saw a child about ten years old greeted them. He had traveled with Rose for quite a while before they reached this small hill where a small castle was built. The kid was just standing at gate doing nothing but looked around like a guard before she spotted them, but Nero pondered what kind of people let a kid guard at the castle gate.

Rose on the other hand didn't faze at this when she smiled and bent down to the kid level:

"Yes, Sister Olivia and I also bring the new comer."

"It's a man." Sister Olivia exclaimed when she run to Nero and started to looked around him. "But we never have a man before."

"Well, it could be a nice change." Rose said when she nodded her head. "And he haven't dead yet."

"Eh, he didn't meet the Repusa flock when he got to the Field."

"No, he did. But he slayed them all down."

"Woah, you are strong." Olivia said with her eyes wide opened. "Maybe you could be the one get out."

"Now now, don't let get he got even more confused. I haven't had time to explain everything to him yet." Rose said. "Could you ask Sister Anya for more people to watch out? You know those demons get like when there is a fresh comer."

"I will tell her immediately." Olivia nodded her head before turned to him. "Please, just stay here and don't go anywhere. If you go out now, you could die."

Nero stared after the kid who quickly disappeared into the dark, like literally. She was here, and then she was just gone.

"Is that..."

"Teleportation." Rose said. "Sister Olivia is a smart one; it took her only two decades to master it perfectly."

"She is only like ten."

"She looked like she was ten." Rose said. "Sister Oliver is already one hundred and eight year old."

"This is not the time for joke."

"I am not joking, Nero." Rose said. "Just wait for a little bit, Nero and I promised you, all your question will have answers. Just give me a little bit of patience from you, that's all I asked."

Nero looked at Rose, whose big black eyes were staring at him right back. Before at the field he was too confused and lost that he didn't looked at her closely. Now as he needed something to distract from the mess of question in his head, he started to study her feature. She was really beautiful, Nero thought, as an image came to his head.

_"Skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony. She was the fairest of them all."_

All though Nero thought Rose was not the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, The Snow White princess description suited her enough. Her hair was in such deep black tone that it contrasted her smooth pale skin so much, it gave an illusion of her skin almost had fairy glow. Her lips was small but plum and as red as blood showed a beauty of vitality and life; not to mention her baby face and pink cheek make her looked even more innocent and youthful.

Nero looked at her clothes, white button up shirt with black blazer and a red rose on the pocket, short black pants and black knee high boots. She did look like a magician on a stage, only probably the most beautiful one he saw. And then, something dawn on him as he narrowed his eyes on her:

"How did you know my name? I haven't said it to you."

"How come I not?" Rose said when she smiled at him again; her eyes slightly shine more than usual. "I gave you that name."

Nero froze again when he heard that, before he could ask again, the girl whose name was Olivia appeared again.

"Sister Rose, you two can come now. Sister Anya already has somebody to guard on the barrier."

"Thank you, Sister Olivia." Rose said when she turned to Nero. "Come on, just a little bit patience and all your questions will be answered."

Nero felt the nerve to shot back but swallowed down when he looked at Rose with her faded smile, he had grown up a little bit ever since everything happened at the Quilphoth. He supposed he could he gave her a little bit more time.

As Nero followed Rose into the castle gate, he saw a lot of young women who was staring at him intensely. Now he could understand why Olivia so surprise to see him, there was only female at this place. As Rose gone into a big room looked a throne room, he saw a group about of dozen young women sitting at a round table, all looking at him strangely.

"Sister Rose, I see you came back with a new comer." A blonde woman who looked like the leader said when she rose from her seat. "So he is a man."

"Yes, Sister Anya." Rose said. "He is very powerful, enough to slay down a flock of Empusa and its Queen without much effort."

"Very interesting." The woman said. "Looked at his hair and his aura, I see he was not human. At least, not fully."

"Could be a good thing."

The other women murmured something inaudible with each other, Nero felt like he was exploding inside when he technically scream out:

"Stop acting like I was not here and tell me, where the hell am I?"

All of the women was suddenly silent as they stared at Nero, Anya blinked a little bit before she gave him smile:

"I am truly sorry for having such a wrong manner when we have just met. Allow me to try again, my name is Anya Blackwood, please to meet you."

"Nero." Nero replied. "So what is the deal with all of this?"

"Perhaps, it was the best to show you."

Anya said when she took out of dagger, but suddenly a woman with dark brown hair stood up, her voice tired and laze when she said:

"Let me, Sister Anya. I was going into the Chamber anyway."

"Thank you, Sister Moanna."

Anya said when she handled her dagger. Nero slightly took a defend stand when the woman took the knife and looked at him, her eyes looked tired when she said:

"Watch this carefully."

To his utter horror, the woman stabbed the dagger right into her chest before she went limb fall on her chair.

"What the...?" Nero stammered when everybody just watch as the other women staring calmly at him. "Somebody help her. Got up and do something"

"Watch Nero, just watch." Rose said when she stood closer to him. "Then you will understand why."

Nero looked at the blood flow out from the woman chest slowly decrease until it gone out, he could not hear her breath or heartbeat. She was dead.

Or at least he thought so before a blind strong white light emitted from her body. The next thing Nero knew, the woman who was bloody and dead at one moment now was breathing and clean like there was nothing. The blood that was smearing everywhere disappeared completely, as the overpowering of scents blood completely gone. Like what he just saw was just a hallucination of his mind.

"Am I insane?" Nero asked when he looked at woman face, her eyes as tired as it was; there was still a hint of life.

"No, not more than us." Anya answered when she draw out the text book and began to read. "I once thought of many name to call this place; Limbo, Prison or even Hell but none of them are true to this one place's horrid nature. For all of the name before, one who get in inside could be escape from it. But as this place, there was none. As even in death, I was dragged back to life and force to continue this cursed existence that was spitting at the Nature Circle itself. I called this place The Trap because it trapped it prey inside it very own body at the exact time the poor soul walked in it, ripped us all from any mean to escape, not even Time and Death itself. And if you are reading these lines, I prayed and wept for your soul and mine to have suffered such a cruel fate. May Hope will always be with you."

Anya closed the book as she sighed when she looked at Nero:

"That was what the first person who ever came here describe this place, her name was Agatha Xenon. That was a thousand year ago in your world before she gave her successor this book and go to the Chamber."

"So, it trapped people here and what? Making you all is immortal and forever young."

"Short version, yes." Anya said when she slightly crooked her head. "I guessed before when you came here, you felt an earthquake and when you opened the door to run out, you saw a blinding white light and next thing you know, you were at the Field with Empusas surrounding you right?"

"Yeah." Nero said. "That's pretty much it."

"We all are like you, the earthquake, blinding lights and the Fields with the Empusas. I was sitting in room study when I felt the earthquake, at that time I just wanted to find my parents and next thing I know, I was surrounding by those horrid demon." Anya said. "Sister Abigail and sister Emmilia tried to save me but those things were too much, and I got sliced to pieces."

"So you all just suddenly got coincidently dragged here by an earthquake and a blinding light. That doesn't make any sense at all."

"We know, but we all tried to find out why we were selected. But we have no common, not living the same region, race or look. Our jobs differ from doctor, architect to teacher, farmer. Few of us have connected bloodline but only a few. The only common were we all are young and female since none of us past twenty five. And after exactly one year out there, there will be a new comer. But since you came, I think there was only first common left. Speaking of which, how old are you?"

"Twenty five." Nero said. "So you don't know how to get out of here? Any means at all."

"There was a myth, and I felt like you could try it. Wait for me a few second."

Anya said when she went to a bookshelf to take out a big scroll before unrolled it on the large table. Nero looked closely at the scroll; it was a map that was draw carefully. He recognized the small field at near him as the field when he first got here, near it was the castle they were staying where they called it The Camp. He looked at the end of the scroll where Anya is, there was a black massive tree that looked like the Quilphoth a lot standing there. As he read the writing on it, it was one simple line:

**The Gate?**

"Why all the question mark?"

"We don't know if it was really a gate but it was the only place where no one of us could ever get into and investigate thoroughly." Anya said. "We hoped it was a gate to go out, because what else we were supposed to think? Just a tree and we have no way out here."

"Why can't you go there? Was it dangerous?"

"Dangerous was not in our dictionary since we couldn't die. But it was a strange place." Anya said. "Rose, you were the one get closest to it the most often, how did you describe it."

"Unlike any other place in The Trap, the scenery of the Border surrounded the Gate changes and so does its creature. You could see time flow in there and creatures grow up and withered, like it should be. But there come the prize when there was an enormous amount of high ranking demon with humanoid form. The strange things was if you died within the Border, instead of being alive in right there, you will be transferred back right to the Field again. I may even said, it was like somebody wanted to you stay back from that place."

Nero nodded his head, but then he felt like it was something out of place when he asked:

"So why was it so important that I was still alive and not dead yet for me to go to the Border?"

"Because you need to be with someone who is still alive and never touched by death to go into the Gate." Rose said. "I went into the Border many times and manage to sneak in a lot of place, but there was once place I could not go into, The Gate." Rose said when she pointed at it. "No matter whom I traveled with and what we do, there was like an invisible barrier keeping us from that tree. And each time we tried to break its, flock after flock of demon attacking us and chased us down to death. But there was once, just once time I manage to get inside The Gate and that was when I went with Sister Olivia."

"Sister Olivia was very lucky when Sister Rose come in time to save her from those demons." Anya said. "She managed to keep Sister Olivia alive to go to the camp and it wasn't until they were attacked at The Gate, Sister Olivia had been touched by death."

"So if you were good enough to slayed and duck down those demons, what was in The Gate that cut you down?" Nero asked.

"I only have good look of it once, and I can tell it were not the demon." Rose said when she reminisced. "It felt different, very different."

"And this was what we able to get a look like inside of The Gate according to what Sister Rose and Sister Olivia said."

Nero stared at the painting that Anya laid at the table, what it looked like to him was an enormous black hole with a circular stair curving around it.

"You think that this was your way out?" Nero said, to him it looked more like a gateway to Hell.

"It's was our only hope now. And so do you, Nero." Anya said.

Nero felt the room silent as the women around him looked at him expectantly, they all looked young and yet their eyes looked so old and sad. He looked at the brown hair woman who just looked blankly at him, her eyes tired and almost like it was disappearing but was force to stay. Nero nodded when he said:

"So when do we begin?"

"I think we should discuss about who will be the one accompany him first." Rose said. "I thought may be Sister Amanda or Sister Nadia who is a fighter will be suitable for this one important job."

"I think the otherwise." Anya said. "You were the one who reached there the most, the one who traveled outside the Camp every day to explore out. Nero already a decent fighter from what I can see, I think an Amazing Magician will be good to support him. Did anyone else think otherwise?"

All the women at the table shake their head lightly; Anya nodded her head when she said to Rose:

"Then you two should spend sometimes together to get to know each other strength a little bit, then form some plan to get in there." Anya said when she looked at Rose. "Your room and his will be next to each other for easier to discuss, is that okay?"

"Of course, Sister Anya."

Rose answered before she walked silently to her room with Nero, seemed to be deep thought as she opened her room before she looked at Nero who was looking at her.

"Sorry, I was just trying to arrange my thoughts and find a way to form it to word. Vergil said I talked too much and always out of topic, which annoyed him greatly, hence the scowl he always had on face when he around me. But then again, I always thought the scowl was a change from his usual stone face. I think he should smile, but..." Rose stopped when she looked at Nero again. "Sorry, I talked too much again. Please come in."

Nero walked inside; he saw a room that was similar to what inside the trailer. Feminine and a lot of flower decoration, from the bed sheet to the pillow. She really was the owner of the trailer.

"Please, take a seat." Rose said when she pointed at a floral chair when she put her top hat down on the table.

_"And probably my mom."_

Nero thought when he took out the picture deep in his pocket. He saw a baby, still small and barely opened his eyes. The only thing he could found resemble to them was that those small strands of white hair on his head.

"So this was me?"

"Yeah, I took it two weeks after you were born." Rose said when she hold the picture in her hands. "You were a loud kid, unlike your father. Dad said you looked nothing like me, but you definitely have my mouth."

"I have a grandpa?"

"Yeah, he was the best." Rose returned the picture to him. "I was driving to meet with him at Fortuna but unfortunately, things went rail road with The Trap."

"So you did not abandon me at some random house because some supernatural thing took you away." Nero said. "That was convenience."

"True, but I am glad that you were left at someone house." Rose said when she looked away. "It was better than you were left to death in a van in a middle of a road."

"How did I get out there?" Nero asked.

"I don't know, I can only guess that someone walked by the trailer and hear your cry. I cannot thank them enough for bring you to safety." Rose looked down sadly. "Although, I cringed at the fact trapped in here was a fate worse than dead."

"What was so bad about it?" Nero asked. "Was there something threatened and hurt you?"

"Well, there were some demons come around here once a while but we got that handled." Rose said. "It was our mind that destroying our self. You see Nero, human was not supposed to came back to life after being killed. Actually, nothing should be. But we are, Nero, we just keep coming back to life despite everything. It felt awful, like you are so tired after a day of work and all you want was a good sleep. But each time you about to fall into oblivion, you being dragged back to you tired and ache body again and could not able find peace but only pain and hurt. And the fact that we remembered our death vividly won't help; our mind thought we were dead but our body didn't. It just so..."

"So torn..." Nero finished her line. "I once felt like it, not on your level and only for short while but I knew what it felt like. Being torn between things that I could not apprehend of my body and my mind."

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"When I first discovered my Devil Bringer."

"Like a Devil Trigger of Vergil?"

"Like that one, but a little different." Nero said, contemplated about whether he should talk to her when Vergil ripped his out of his body. But then he changed his mind, he wanted to focus more on Rose tonight. "So how do you two meet?"

"Well, I was traveling around cities to sightseeing before I get in to college. And since Fortuna was a great place with historical value tight to a legend of Sparda and wonderful cake shops, I thought it would make a good stop to tour and find more about Sparda since I was really curious about him. And of course, eating cake too." Rose said. "I met Vergil at a library, and I just thought he was a handsome guy with an interesting about historical figure. I am a simple girl, I saw a hot guy with same interest of mine, I went to talk to him."

"That's it?" Nero asked, he always thought Vergil did not seem like the kind person who would just get along with someone he just met at the library.

"Oh, I haven't finished. So when I went talked to him, or more like doing a monologue as he was reading in annoy, I mentioned that my grandma used to meet Sparda."

"She did?" Nero asked.

"Yeah, she did. She told me that he was an incompetent moron who could not do one job right."

"And...you said that to Vergil?"

"Yeah, and he blow up at me, big time and got kicked out of the library." Rose said when she tilted her head. "Don't know why he got so mad."

Nero: "..."

"Umm, you do know that Vergil was Sparda's son, right?" Nero asked reluctantly.

"Oh that's why." Rose said with enlightenment in her eyes. "But I didn't really know that fact until now, he was still so mean."

"Maybe when somebody was looking for a hero in the history like Sparda in the library, it means they really like him and did not want to hear some stranger saying that their hero was an incompetent moron."

"But that was my grandma said, not me. I just quoted."

Nero: "..." Was she pretending or this was the real question in her mind.

"Anyway, after that I met him again doing some research at a book store. I felt bad that he got kicked out before he got what he wanted so I asked to share some note that Sparda used to write."

"Wasn't that kind of things should be kept in private and secretly in your house."

"Nah, my grandma throwing it away all over her house, my dad had to pick it up and collect it. The only reason he did not throw it into a trash bin because he thought Sparda have wonderful hand writing and his line was perfect. Vergil still angry but he took the note, nonetheless."

"You did not happen to say its condition at your house, right?"

"Of course I must, I mean he was asking where I got it." Rose said. "What if thought I stole it or something like that, he would be even angrier."

Nero: ...Doubt it.

"And after that, we met at my van to talk about my Grandma and Sparda. I mean, when most of the people heard that my family knew Sparda, they always said I make it up. But Vergil believed me, even though he was still scowling when we talked."

Nero: ... More like curiosity since it was the first time he heard somebody called his father a moron.

"I told him that I did not know much about the affair between my grandma and Sparda since she hated to talk to about it. But I heard that they used to did some magic and spell at my house, just no one know what it was."

"So that's how you two met." Nero looked at Rose's pouted lips. "So how exactly does your grandma know Sparda?"

"I don't know, she did not like to talk about it. I just know she disliked him, a lot."

"So you are a magician? Like real magic?"

"Yeah, hence the costume." Rose said. "A lot of times, there was random stuff and not just people get in here so we took it in here to turned it into our item. Sister Olivia got me this to outfit from the clothes and fabric tossed in here, but the wand was what with me when I got in here. It's a family heirloom."

Nero looked at a wooden stick out from her knee high boots, did not looked like something that much treasure when she shove it there casually. But again, after a few minute talking to her, he had feeling like Rose was the kind of girl took everything casually. Maybe too casually.

"Yeah." Nero said when he looked at Rose again, like fully looking. There were still many questions he wanted to ask about her but he did not know where to start. Finally, he still chose one that was plagued my mind for so many years.

"Did you ever regret having me?"

Rose looked like she was slightly taken back as her doll eyes got even bigger when she stared at him. After a few moment of silent of what looked like she was thinking really hard to think, Rose opened her mouth to say:

"Having you was never my intention, and I admit, it brought me fear and pain that I had never experienced before. But I have never once regretted it."

Nero let out a sigh when he slightly dropped his back again the soft chair. He did not what this feeling was currently flowing around his mind, but he did not hate it.

Maybe it was happiness, or contempt, or both. But either way, he felt like a weight had been lifted out of his shoulder.

"Thank you, Rose, for answering my question."

"Of course." Rose smiled when she said back.


	3. Chapter 2

When Nero woke up to a small but continuously knock on his door, he opened the door to see Rose stood behind it:

"Nero, Sister Moanna was going to the Chamber today, do you want to see it?" Rose said, there was something about the way her eyes looked that he found that hard to say no.

"Just for a moment."

Nero said when he grabbed his jacket before going out Rose. On the walk on the hallway, he could not help but see a lot of woman were going out, who looked both sad and happy at the same time. Like Rose.

"So, what was this all about?"

"Oh right, I haven't told you about the Chamber." Rose said. "It was the place where my Sister go to the deep slumbering when they felt like they couldn't take on this place anymore. It was the next best thing after escaping The Trap, if our body could not escape the Trap then at least our mind could hide away from it. When we fully emerge in the Chamber, we lost all our sense and conscious, for only thing we could feel was peace and complement."

"You sound like you went there?"

"I did, but only for a few day when I felt really bad." Rose smiled sadly. "But Sister Moanna intended to never go out again."

"She doesn't want to get out anymore." Nero puzzled. "Doesn't it would be like she was dead?"

"Again, it was the next best thing. She had stayed here for three thousand years; I could not blame her if she reached her limit."

"You two were close?"

"Yes, we came here quite close together."

"You said she was three thousand years old."

"Time flow differently in here as for one year out there, one hundred year in here. I have existed for more than two thousand and five hundred year, Nero."

Nero looked at the way Rose eyes shine when she looked at him; suddenly he felt a sense of pity and sadness when he looked at her. Thousands of years, trap in a place and suffered torture from her very mind and body. It must have been very painful to endure, and yet she still stood, with light and hope in her eyes despite everything.

When they walked before at a big Chamber with two big door opened widely allowed the crowd of woman walking in. Nero looked at Rose who just stopped at midway and stared at the room with a look of emptiness on her face, he felt like he should say something but words were not his strong suit so he opted to silent as he stood next to Rose.

"Nero, sister Moanna wanted to have her words with you before she went into the slumber."

"Me." Nero asked again. "You sure?"

"Yes, she is resilient it to be you." Sister Olivia said with pleading. "I know you are new here but please talk to her. That was her last wish here."

It was hard enough to deny with Rose and her glistening eyes next to him, even harder when a-ten-year-old looked like girl asked you pleading like this.

"Okay, I will go."

Nero wave lightly at Rose who was silently looking at them, seemed to be in deep thought. As Nero walked into a small room near it, he saw Moanna was sitting at her vanity table and combing her long brown hair when she said:

"Thank you sister Olivia. Could you please close the door for me?"

"So what do you want to say to me about?"

Nero asked when he saw Moanna rose from the table as the door closed, she walked closely to him; probably too close as her chest nearly touched his when she smiled:

"I just wanted a one last moment of pleasure with a handsome young man like you, was that okay?"

"I am taken." Nero said when he scurried far from her and about to run to the door. "If that was all, I will..."

Suddenly, he heard a chuckle that slowly got bigger into a soft laugh when Moanna covered her mouth when she looked at him:

"Sorry, it couldn't be helped. But for a masculine tough big guy like you to make that kind of face, it was so good."

Nero watched as Moanna laugh out loud, her smile broaden on her face as her eyes gleaming with mischief.

"So you just wanted to fool me around?" Nero asked in annoy. "That's it for calling me all the way here?"

"No, it was just a bonus." Moanna said stroke a strand of her long hair when she sat down on a chair. "I invited you here to talk about Rose. Face to face, with complete honesty. Considered it to be a last wish."

"What about her?"

"She is your mother, so that's mean a lot." Moanna looked at him when she rested her chin on her hand. "Do you hate her for leaving you?"

Nero contemplated for a moment when he saw Moanna looked at him with a look that he could not understand. After a few moment of silent, Nero finally spoke up:

"There was a time; I did hate her for leaving me. But then I thought that if she didn't care for me, why I should care for the women that abandon me since I was a child."

"And now, when you see the truth?" Moanna asked. "You hated her? Or angry at her?"

"I don't hate her."

"But you are a little bit angry at her, don't you Nero?" Moanna said when she tapped her fnger on her chin. "Angry is good, it means you cared for her, although just a little bit but still, better than nothing."

"So what is your point?"

"I was just trying to help a good friend of mine and her son to sort out their mind a little bit before they went out of the Camp." Moanna said. "In this hideous Trap, the only place that was safe for you mind and body was the Camp. Outside, it was a horrid place where there were a thousand different things that was trying to kill you. And it not just demons, Nero, it was your very own mind too."

"What do you mean?"

"When you are going to The Border, you will have to cross a place where all your memories will be pulled out of your mind and twisted around. In there, it was hard to recognize what was real and what was not. Just because you passed there once, doesn't mean you could do it again." Moanna said as her eyes darken. "It's evolving on your very own mind, if it couldn't defeat you once, it will learn the mistake and tried to find your weakness again. If you didn't strong enough to pass, then your mind will be beaten by it and sunk into complete despair and lost all hope for life. Like a puppet that lost all string to life."

Nero looked at Moanna whose eyes started to look like it was dissolving; the woman that was just laughing at him a moment ago was completely gone. Instead, there was just pure emptiness and sadness.

"Tried to cling for life and hope as much as you can even though everything around you said otherwise like Rose does. She had passed that place for countless time, just to looking for a way to get back to you." Moanna sighed when she get back to her vanity table to brush her hair. "That is what I wanted to tell you. You can leave now"

Nero looked at the woman who sat there continue to brush her hair for a brief moment before he went back to Rose. He saw her top hat poking out from afar when she was waiting for him.

"What did she said to you?" Rose asked.

"Just some advice to venture outside safely."

"Oh, I am sure it will be handy for you." Rose said when she looked at the room which was full of people. "We should head in too."

Nero nodded when he walked with Rose inside the room. As he observed, Nero noticed the architecture design have strong resemblance of it to the Church of the Order that brought unpleasant memory. But instead the enormous statue of Sparda, there was a lake that was so deep that he could only see the darkness of it bottom.

"That is the Chamber." Rose said when she whispered at his ear. "Come, let's take a closer look at it."

Nero walked to it as he saw Rose bend down and touch the water lightly. Instead of the glistening wet drop on her hand, the water vaporized immediately into the white smoke. Rose looked at him when she smiled lightly:

"Come, tried it too. I promised it was safe."

Nero bent down and touched his finger tip lightly at it, immediately a sense of peace and calamity washed over him as the cool water touch him. Nero felt like he could just sleep right there when he felt his eyes lid dropped, but Rose grabbed his hand and took it out of the water instead making him instantly awoke.

"Now that's..."

"Very comforting, isn't it?" Rose said as she stood up. "But outside of The Trap, it was considered the black magic because it put the victim into their peaceful slumber as it feeds on their life force to sustain. In here, since we don't die, it became our holy grail water. It's quite ironic that something was a poison out there became a cure for our soul, don't you think?"

Nero nodded lightly as he watched the water, he could felt for a brief moment his finger touched there slight numb than usual. This place was truly odd, Nero thought to himself. It was not like he didn't see weird shit on his own share, but this place was out of mind. At least with the demon; when it's dead then it stayed dead. It did not coming back alive and healthy.

"Oh, Sister Rose, please sit here on the front row." A young woman, looked like she was only in her teen moved a little bit. "Sister Moanna will want to see you before she went into the Chamber."

"Thanks you, Sister Ariel."

Nero and Rose sat on the bench when he saw a woman of wearing a beautiful long gown with her red hair put into a bun come out, she slightly bowed before the audiences before the music started and her voice began to echoed the room. Her voice was amazing, Nero thought, angelic even when her high note was ringing in the air so smooth and clear like the sound of bells. Nero didn't understand the language she sang or knew the tune, but it was a very pleasant sound to hear.

"It was the lullaby from where sister Moanna lived as a child. This song meant a lot to her to hear." Rose said when she pointed to Moanna who was holding Anya's hand from not afar.

"So when someone about to go into the Chamber, you throw a good show to them?"

"Only when we decided to stay there forever." Rose said. "This was considered our funeral, and yet our nearly happy ending as our getaway. It means a lot of things that words cannot describe so better to make it memorable, isn't it?"

Nero continued to watch as the woman smiled as the people around him started to clap, he decided to do it along. After all, she was good and deserved a good praise. The next thing was a ballet dance show where they play what was called the "The Lake and the Swan." And there was some other entertainment like a stand-alone comedy, plays and many things else.

"Now this is like something Vergil could enjoy." Rose whispered to him when they watched a poet reading. "Personally, I didn't understand it much as I always felt asleep when he read it to me."

"He read to you?"

Nero asked. If it was V, maybe it was believable. But Vergil, he was more like a type reading alone and quietly. But then again, Nero only met him for a short time and spent a good amount of it to fight him before he went to the Underworld and seal the gate.

"Umm." Rose nodded. "So did you two close?"

"Vaguely." Nero said when he quoted what Trish said. "What I knew about him mostly from Dante and you."

"Oh."

Rose said in small voice when she continued to listening to the soothing voice of the poet. She clapped her hand lightly when she stood up as she whispered to Nero:

"Now this is the time for my show."

Nero watch as Rose walked to the stage, her clothing had changed a bit differ from yesterday. Now she was wearing a short bloody red dress that clung onto her body with a black tail coat jacket along with high heel shoes. Rose bow down to the audiences before she smiled widely, her wand waving in the air created the golden sparkle like small firework as she spoke loud and clear:

"Ladies and gentleman, I am Rose the Magician and today, I am very flattered to be chosen by our beloved Moanna to be the one last memory of her before going into the Chamber." Rose said. "Now, sister Moanna never able to see the sunset on the beach so now I will recreate that moment to the extreme realistic; of course with an extra touch of magic."

As Rose said, her wand shot out an array of light and Nero watched in amazed at the surrounding around him change completely. Instead of sitting in a bench, he saw he was sitting in the beach with golden soft sand and the salty wind was blowing at his face. Nero felt the urge to stand up and check but he heard a woman from behind said:

"Down boy, you are gonna miss the best."

Nero sat down as he saw the crimson sun was slowly setting down with the lilac sky and dark cloud, the sound of waves beating in the shore was making the scenery even more peaceful. That was actually neat, Nero thought when he touch the sand beneath, it was rough and still lightly wet by the water. The feeling was like what Rose said, realistic.

Suddenly, Nero felt the earth rumble underneath him as he saw the coconut trees started shaking violently. Nero, again have to be reminded that this was only a show created by Rose as he tried his best to sit still as the ground was vibrating more frenzy. As the sun finally hit the horizon, a huge wave of water rose out from the sea like the mouth of a black beast was getting close them.

"Woah, sister Rose really outdid this year." Ariel sat next to him said. "I will never be amazed by another magic trick."

Nero mutedly nodded his head as he was trying to fight his instinct to run forward and attack as the wave getting closer to them. It was so real that he could hear sound of the water grumbling as it getting closer, salty smell flew into his mouth and the coldness of the water slapped on his face. As Nero closed his eyes as the water collided his body but he felt something but not the water; soft and gentle covered his body. Nero saw on his hand then was just a bunch of red flower petal, rose to be exact. He then saw the surrounding people started to pick out the rose petals on their body, only for it to turn into a candy.

Nero carefully observed the candy, wrapped in white paper and had a blue tint on it. He saw the woman sat next to him open the wrap and proceed to eat the candy; she hummed lightly when she said:

"Salt water taffy, very good." The woman said when she looked at the candy on his hand. "You should eat it now before it disappears."

Nero hesitantly put the candy into his mouth, the taste of sweet and salty engulfed into his tongue as he chewing it. This was very impressive, Nero said when he swallowed the candy and felt the sweetness still lingering on his mouth. If he didn't know better, he would have thought this was the legit stuff.

As everyone finished their candy, suddenly they were back at room where Rose was standing at the stage smiling:

"Now everyone, do you enjoy the experience I gave you?"

The huge clap and cheering answered her question as Rose slightly bowed down in stylish before said:

"I am happy that you all enjoy my trick. But then, if that was the finale then don't you all think it was little bit disappointing. Now please, Moanna our special girl, please come on here."

Moanna smiled as she stood up and walked to the stage next to Rose, her brown hair was put into a long braid with flower on it. Rose smiled sweetly to Moanna as she held Moanna's hand, she asked her softly:

"Moanna, now I want you to close your eyes and imagine the happiest memory you have." Rose said when she held her hand a little bit tighter. "Moanna, do you have it yet?"

"Yes." Moanna said when she closed her eyes tightly.

"Now, when you felt my hand letting go, open your eyes."

Rose said when she waved her wand around Moanna, golden light started to emitted from the tip as it began to covered around Moanna like cocoon. When Rose letting her hands go, the light died out as it revealed a small little girl with long brown hair. And there was a man appeared before her, who smiled brightly at her:

"Mona, do you want to dance with daddy?"

"Dad."

Moanna said when tears flown out from her eyes as she hugged the man tightly. The man said nothing but just smiled as he held two of her little arm out and started to dance with her. Nero could hear the music, fast and happy beat filled with Moanna and her father laughed. They laughed and smile for as long as the music play, and when it died out, the dance stopped and the man kneel lightly to Moanna as he kissed her forehead:

"Goodnight, my sweet girl."

Moanna watched as the man disappeared as she saw herself became an adult again; she turned to Rose as she said:

"Thank you, my friend." Moanna smiled brightly at her. "Thanks you for showing me what it was like to be happy again."

Rose nodded her head silently when she smiled back, Moanna turned around when she said to everyone:

"Everyone, in this nightmare the only good part was meeting you all; to laugh, to cry, to suffer and to fight along with you. But every night needs to end, and I felt like it was time for me to sleep. So goodbye everyone, and may the hope always be with you."

Moanna bowed down to everyone, a small but respecting one before she turned her heel to the lake. As Moanna took the deep breath when she stood lake side, she gave Rose a final smile before she let herself fall into the water. White smoke flow out lightly before completely disappeared in the air as Moanna's figure sank into the Lake dark water.

For the first time, Nero felt what this world was truly done to people; it torn people apart to the point that despite living your happiest moment again, you found it impossible to live in here again. For death was the true happy ending that the occupants can seek.

Nero found small sense of loneliness as he saw Rose stood there, her back again the audience as she just silently watched her friend fell into the deep water. When she turned around, the only thing Rose does was a small tip on her hat as a sign for goodbye before she stepped down the stage.

"You should go after her." Anya said to Nero when she saw Rose exited the room. "She probably not wanting to talk, but definitely won't want to be alone."

Nero sat up to follow Rose. When he finally found her, he found her with her top hat on her thighs as she was sitting on the grass and looking up to the sky.

"You looked like your father a lot." Rose said. "Your white hair, your blue eyes, the way you fight and walked. That's why I knew who you are instantly the moment I saw you."

Nero keep quite as he saw Rose staring up to the sky, there was nothing in there to look at. No star or moon, just pure blackness. There was no day or night here, just like what Rose once said, time does not flow in here.

"Asked me." Rose said when she finally looked at Nero. "Asked me about who I were, what I did when I was still living in your world. Ask me anything about my life in the other world, because I am afraid that I am starting to forget about it."

Nero looked at Rose eyes, she looked so lost and scared like a little child that was desperately finding a way to go back home. He then proceeded to ask her:

"How old are you when you have me?"

"Nineteen." Rose said when she scratched her head lightly. "I was just a kid back then."

"I can see that." Nero said when he saw her face still have baby fat. "You said you were going to college, what is this? Some school for magician?"

"No, normal college, botanical major to be correct. Before I went here, magic was just been a hobby than anything serious." Rose said. "And I love flower and tree."

"That's predictable, judge by your room." Nero said when he smiled lightly. "You know, you are different from what I imagine a lot. I always thought you to be more, mature?"

"Teenage pregnancy didn't do the help much." Rose said when she blushed lightly. "I thought I was smart enough to avoid those things but guess I was not."

"And how old was Vergil back then?"

"About my age, I suppose." Rose said when she sighed. "It was so long ago, memories are a bit hazing after centuries."

"My grandpa, what did he do?"

"Oh, he is a professor at a university, Linguistic and Literature exactly. Part of why he kept the note of Sparda properly from the trash bin."

"Your grandma, she sounds eccentric." Nero said.

"She is, and you kind of remind of me of her with your temper. She is also very powerful with magic too. Enough that magic flow in her blood so much and making her stay youthful even though she was four hundred years old."

"That's old."

"For human." Rose said when she touch the grass beneath her feet. "For non - human, it felt a lot shorter."

Nero looked at Rose who was staring blankly at grass she gripped out the earth, with a small light, the grass in her hand disappear and the earth beneath for once again covered fully with it. The lost and despair once again took her eyes again, and Nero continue to ask her a lot of thing for quite a long time to keep it from coming back.

Nero looked at Rose's delicate and innocent features, she was not the most beautiful girl he had ever seen but one have to admit, she was a rare beauty. He could get why Vergil was involved with her the first place despite their great differences; she was pretty, he was young and a man. And as he talked to Rose more, he realized that she had her very own charm and not just a pretty face. There was something very sincere and warm when she talked, even if it was something completely random, there was a sense of comfort and pleasant.

Beautiful and captivating in her own way, no wonder a cold hearted Vergil couldn't really hate her despite their first meeting.

"That was lovely."

Rose said as they walked back to their own room, Nero nodded when he had a small smile form at his mouth corner.

"To be honest, I am glad I have a great time to get to know you. With Vergil, I don't think I ever could ask him that much."

"You and me both." Rose smiled when she nodded. "Have a good rest, when you woke up I will lead you to explore around here."

"Good night." Nero said when he tried to hide a yawn before he closed the door.


	4. Chapter 3

This place was weird, Nero officially admitted when he woke up. The sky was dark and yet there was light for them to see everything clearly. And then the fact that he didn't eat or drink anything and his body felt perfectly normal. Before, he could fight for a long time without needing to rest and eat but now, he had no need for it.

And this irked him to no end.

This place, it felt unnatural, eerie and the longer he stayed; the more he felt like something was crawling under his skin and seethed deeper. Nero scratched his head when he walked out the door, he only stayed here for what it's like a few days and this place made him felt uneasy this much. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be in here for thousands of years.

"You slept well?" Rose asked when she saw him walked to her.

"It's okay." Nero said, the feeling of restless crawl to him when he took a deep breath to keep calm. "Can we just go and try to go to The Border today?"

"That would be a little bit risky." Rose said when she thought. "You are an excellent fighter, but I would like to have some time for you to prepare. Come here, I have something you need."

Nero walked closely to see Rose pulled out a clear vial out, as she opened the lid a white smoke came out and blown right into his face. Nero felt a sense of comfort and sincerity as he inhaled the smoke, the feeling of restless gone and he was feeling more calm.

"Thanks, that was what I need."

"Yeah, your body is rejecting this place at first so it's okay to feel like that." Rose said.

"Do you feel like that every day?" Nero asked.

"No." Rose stopped a little bit before she breathed in. "Feeling exhausted and uneasiness are the sign that you are still in life, literally. I have been touched by Death so many times, now I was just can barely call myself alive. Come on, we don't have much time to waste; the longer you stayed her the worse it will get."

As they get out of the Camp, Rose opened a small map as she showed it to him:

"You see in here, to get to the Border we need to go through the different sixth layers of land to get there. The first layer is what actually the Empusa field, you fight them out easily so there was not much to say. The second layer is a place where there were these really perverted demons that if you touched their skin, you will be numb by poison and they will eat you alive. We call that the Brothel Of Death."

"Sound like something I used to encounter."

"Glad to hear that, then you will know what you were dealing with. The third layer was a vast land of desert that you will have to technical walk through that nonstop which earned it the name The Endless Walk."

"Like nonstop? For real."

"Yes, because if you stop, the ground will crumble under you feed and you will be buried six feet under it and waiting to choke up by sand."

"How long does it take to get through there?"

"I don't know, it's hard to measure time and distance in here you know. And although we draw a map of this, but The Endless Walk was not easy to measure as the sand and the wind keep blowing at us. Right after go through there, we enter a forest call a Deep Slumber, where the tree produce a gas that make us fell asleep and died in our dream. The Chamber actually was an upgrade and less poisoning of the gas in there fuse with a dark spell outside the world so we didn't die in pain."

"That was actually very dangerous." Nero said, he knew obvious just one touch of the water from the Chamber could make his mind slogging. "Never thought I say this, but the demons seemed to be not a threat in here."

"Oh no, the fifth layer will change your mind about it: The Runaway for the only thing you can only do is run. In there, there was a lot demons in there, they are strong and very powerful and you cannot attack them."

"Why?"

"Well if you wounded a demon in there, your body will end up an exactly have the same wound. I made a mistake of burning a demon there and then I got a really bad case of burning. The only thing you could do in there is run like hell chase on you tail and hide when you cannot run. But it only last until you leave the fifth layer to enter the sixth layer."

"The Land of Illusion?" Nero asked when he read the name.

"Yes, the Land of Illusion where you only enemy is your own mind and sanity." Rose said when she looked deep into his eyes. "When we enter there, you are on your own and so do I. I couldn't tell you what to expect there because it changed different when each time I went there. The only thing I could tell you is that no matter what you see and hear, don't believe it. Just keep on moving forward, and don't ever stop."

Rose stopped suddenly when she looked back at the Camp, where one of her sister just gave up on life and hope before she turned to Nero:

"Now, let's go to the Empusa Field to get practice a little bit, shall we?"

Nero nodded when he walked to the Empusa Field; the moment he walked into the grassy field again, he saw a dozen of Empusa Field just appeared out of thin air.

"Fine, let's play then."

Nero grinned when he swung out his sword at them. Nero style of fighting were quite wild and visceral, and yet the same time have a little bit of touch of refinement and reflexing in it, Rose thought when she stood there watching. But it seemed that didn't work really well with Nero:

"Hey, are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna fight?" Nero asked when shot a tripple kill with just a bullet.

"I thought you are having fun." Rose smiled when she waved her wand. "But okay, if you wanted then I could show you some trick then."

As Rose said, a black mutated form of shadow shot out from her wand and fly out right to the Empusa before covered it completely. As the shadow touch the Empusas, it turned into into dust before it could opened it mouth and scream. Nero watched as the whole field of Empusa now turned into nothing but a black smoke and dust, he saw Rose smiled lightly:

"I have existed for more than two thousand years, lock up with many different talented women; got to pick up something on road."

"You make the fun a little bit short." Nero said when he touched the dusty remain, it was cold as ice. "How come if there was such a powerful magic like this on Earth, why nobody use it to save people?"

"There was this one person, lived a long time ago." Rose said when she moved her wand and the shadow move to swallow on next pack of Empusa appearing on the field. "He saved a village from monster and demon, got love and worshipped by it. But then, as time flow and human started to forger his kindness and only see his power and strength; they began to scare him. Next thing he knew, they was burning his house and trying to kill him."

"So what happened next? Did he live?"

"Please, the guy could vaporize a demon with him blinking his eye; human couldn't kill him like that. But he is also disappointing in the human, for they are his very own kin. Just because he has more power than them, doesn't mean he is not one of them. So the man was sad and left his home and vowed to never show his power and gift to mankind ever again. Many of others, who possessed the same gift, swore that same oath; to turn our back again our kin like they did to us, to forsake them all. That's why you never heard from any of this, we just kept ourselves hidden from human without magic. It's funny that one person helped his own kind and got his house burned to the ground; a demon helps them and he got worshipped by the human. So you could see why people with magic like us get even stingier."

"That was something heavy." Nero said when he saw nothing but dust around him. "I think if you were a demon hunter, we are all gonna lose our job."

"I am a pacifist so I don't think I fit that job, or more correctly, _was._" Rose said when she looked around the field. "Well, since the first layer is easy, I think we could just waltz into the second layer."

"Yes, and I won't make the same mistake again." Nero answered cheekily. "Asking for your help."

"Hey, I did step down for you. It's you the one who insisted."

As the two was talking on their way to the second layer, the shadow after swallow and turning the Empusa into dust proceed to silently craw on the ground before it merged into Rose make her nail momentarily dyed into black before turning into the normal color.

Nero walked with Rose to something looked like a white mist, it was impossible to see behind it what it was.

"This was the Mist, something appeared as a mark of the transitioning between the layers. When we passed it, we will officially stepped into the Brothel of Death. Are you ready?"

"There was nothing to not be."

Nero answered when he walked into the mist. It felt like walk through a cold shower, Nero thought when he squinted his eyes to see. Now this looked like a five star hotel than a Brothel, Nero thought when he saw the staff who looked like human that was nodding at him.

Key words: Looked like.

"Hello Miss Rose and welcome to our Hotel, new comer." An elderly man stepped out in his butler costume, despite his formal demeanor, Nero could feel his demonic energy when he neared the man. "May I assist you with something?"

"The usual, goodbye party for two."

"Okay, Miss."

The butler swayed with grace when he led the two of them to the very fine elevator, he watched as the butler-like-demon said:

"We have not expected you to come around this time soon, but seeing this new comer seemed to be special, we guess it could be expected."

"He is very strong." Rose said when she looked at the elevator. "How is Variet doing?

"Same old, same old." The demon said. "You, Miss Rose, on the other hand are looking more alive than last I saw you."

"New comer, new hope." Rose answered when she looked at Nero who was currently staring weirdly at her. "Tell Variet that I and Nero will wait for her at the lobby, just take her time to prepare."

"Of course, Miss Rose."

As the two of them walked out of the elevator, the butler bowed to them before silently walked to a room.

"Since when is demon so..."

"Nice and polite." Rose finished his sentence. "Well, demon or human, we are all getting sick of doing the same old thing for eternity. And since the Chamber only work for human, demon got it worse. I remembered when I just get here, to get to Variet, you have to fight your way through the monster and demon in each floor going by foot. Now, even demon get bored by being dead than stuffed back to life like puppet so we are just burn the phase and go to her myself."

"You seemed like to be in good term with them?"

"Just some. I sometimes come here to chat with Variet and I know a hermit in the Endless Walk and a knight in the Runaway. Decent demons, nice to chat even when they are trying to kill you."

"I don't think I follow you."

"Well you see Nero, human are actually considered to be a lucky creature in The Trap. Demon and other species are a lot worse, for not only their body and life got control but also their very own mind. I heard Variet once say, there was like this one voice in their head that keep saying: "kill the human, kill the human, kill the human" like a chorus and they cannot resist it. Not only that, they also can't leave this specific layer. At least I can go around and seeing more things than any demons could ever do. So even they don't want to kill anymore, demons are still compelled to kill us."

Nero had no word to say for this, to this point, he felt like if the star started to fall on his head than he wouldn't even blink.

"Saying that, you should careful with Variet. She and her pack is a master of manipulation and deceiving, and especially good at sneak attack. Beware, okay."

Rose said when she saw the butler came out and nodded his head at them when he gestured his hand toward the room. Nero watched at Rose holding her wand tightly but her walk and face was completely neutral. Nero draw out his gun when he pushed the door open, the scene before his eyes making Nero shuttered for a moment.

Inside the enormous room oval room, a dozen of people include both male and female all naked and twisted their body around each other, all sweating and moaning in the deep pleasure as their body brought together. Nero felt his ear redden as the orgy didn't seem to stop despite the two of them had entered the room. It had already awkward enough to see this, it was even weirder to walk in there with you mother. Rose on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly normal with this when she waved her hand:

"Hello Variet."

Rose said when she walked to a small coffee table, a woman dressed in her white sexy lingerie was sitting at it and smiled when she crossed her leg said:

"Well, well, a male new comer. This time things did look better." The woman said when she eyeing his hair. "I sniff a familiar scent. You don't happen to relate to Sparda, right?"

"It's his granddad." Rose replied when she sit down opposite to Variet. "Does anything new around here?"

"No, same old crap, same fuck." Variet said when she winked at Nero. "But if you and the new comer joined, maybe we could have some new fun."

"Sorry to say no. We are here for business." Rose said when she looked at Variet. "How do you want to die this time?"

"Well, I would like not to be swallowed by your Abyssal, it always making me feeling sick after a long time. It would be nice to get my body burn completely; it would make the revise after that easier."

"I am good with that."

Rose said as Nero shot the butler with his arm turned into a pincers attacked at him behind the back. The bullet went straight into his head but only slowed him down a little bit when he continued to attack.

"His heart."

Rose said when she jump back when the coffee table throwing at her along with the sharp spider leg that was growing from Variet body swinging barely missed Rose chest. Variet face was then peeling out and revealing a spider head like and she spit out a bag of sticky venom at them. As Nero shot down the butler right in the chest, the people on the bed no longer twisted around in pleasure, instead turned into a pack of giant-spider when they lunged at Rose and Nero.

"You handled those things, I will get Variet." Rose said when she wave her wand, purple flame appeared around her as it created a protected wall again the web and venom spit Venom at her. "After all, for old time fun."

Nero fight off the pack of spider demon as it attacked him, which were a lot harder than Nero expected when they were very smart and knew how teamwork actually worked like. Nonetheless, when it came to brute strength and power, Nero overpowered them as the blood of Sparda flow within him.

"Good night, Variet."

Rose said when she blasted the head of Variet into deep green goo, with all her head and leg have been burned off badly. Rose bent down to the floor to pick up a skeleton key that was laying in middle of the green goo that was Variet's head a few moments ago.

"You two still friend after this?" Nero asked when Rose snapped her finger, make a fire engulfed the room as it burned her body and the pack of spiders completely.

"Please, we killed each other for hundreds of time, one more time wouldn't damage our relationship."

Rose said when she looked at the key hesitantly, she bite her lower lip a little bit when she said:

"I think I have underestimated your strength; I didn't think you could pass this place this easy." Rose contemplated. "After went into the third layer, it will be a lot harder to go back then going forward. Are you sure you wanted to do this?"

"I never thought about going back." Nero said. "Like you said yourself, keep moving forward."

"I supposed it true."

Rose said when she smiled, she hold the key tightly as it started to glowing brightly and white mist started to flow out heavily from it. Rose held out her hand to Nero:

"Then let me take you to the end of the world, Nero."

Nero felt the urge to smile at Rose when he took her hand as the two emerged the white mist together.


	5. Chapter 4

This was truly endless.

Nero thought when he breathed heavily when he stepped into the white sand and the black sky covered all over the place like a thick blanket.

"_A fucking thick wool blanket in the middle of summer."_

Nero thought to himself when he huffed lightly as the heat was getting the best of him. Despite there was no sun or light in here, it was still hot like a hell hole here and the wind occasionally blow the harsh sand at his face did not help this any easier. He had enter the third layers for god know how long, and at first he was glad there were no demon or anything attack him, now he just wished there was something out there just show up and distract him from this painfully tedious walk.

"When will we get out of here?" Nero asked when he saw Rose who to his amaze did not breath like a cow because of the heat and or being uncomfortable as the sand keep slipping under their feet.

"When we reached The Hermit's house."

"Where was that?"

"At the moment where we found our peace and temperate." Rose said cryptically before she turned to smiled at him. "You will get there when you get there."

Nero huffed out in annoyance as he continued to walk followed Rose, who was doing just one thing, keep moving forward. This was pure annoyance; the heat, the aimless walking and the fact that Rose was silent. Couldn't believe what he was wishing, Nero took a deep breath as he said:

"Can you say something? Anything to distract me because I think if I keep going like this, I will be insane."

"When I walked with other sister, some wanted silent other wanted to talk to get over here. I don't know what type you are, so I chose silent first." Rose said when she sighed. "But sometimes, whether if it was silent or talking, it just didn't work and some sister just gave up."

"I won't give up." Nero said when he continued to step heavily on the sand. "I need to go home to Kyrie."

"Kyrie, your girlfriend." Rose smiled when she said. "You two are serious?"

"Yes." Nero nodded. "And if it didn't work out for her, I don't think it would work out for anyone else."

"I know that feeling." Rose said when she and Nero started to climb on a small hill of sand.

"Vergil?"

"Yeah." Rose said when she took a deep breath as she jump down from the sand hill. "I met a lot of people here in the Trap, but I could never felt the same way I did with him. Maybe because this place or maybe not, but the only way I knew if I could ever love anyone else is to get out of here. But enough about me, tell me more about Kyrie, she seemed like a nice girl."

"She is the best."

Nero answered when he started to share to Rose his stories with Kyrie, Rose listened very carefully when she heard about how Kyrie took his Devil Arm and accepted who he was.

"Your arm looked very normal now as I can see." Rose said.

"It got ripped apart then grew back."

Nero said, not sure of telling Rose about what happened to his arm. Although he only met her for not a very long time, Nero felt a certain of care for Rose and judge about the fact that she still loved Vergil after thousands of years; he felt like telling about Vergil ripped his arm out just to get his Yamato back would hurt her badly.

"I see." Rose nodded when a small smiled appeared on the corner of her mouth. "You have demon blood, a stabbed in the middle of the chest couldn't kill you then it's normal to grow an arm back."

"Yeah."

Nero shrugged his shoulder uncomfortable. He had a feeling like Rose saw right through his lies, but she decided to keep quiet and let it slide.

"So this Dante, Vergil's brother, he sound like a cool guy." Rose decided to change the subject. "You know much about him?"

"He could be a jackass sometimes, but in general, he's trustworthy and quite caring in the right time." Nero said when he remembered. "He helped me when I first started in my demon hunter business, gave me the sign too."

"Devil May Cry, very interesting." Rose mused when she tipped her head lightly. "As my father said, poetic, even for a devil who supposed to be malevolent and cruel, could show something as sentiment as tears. But after all that we have seen, I think that phrase couldn't be more precise."

As Rose said this, Nero felt like he saw something glinted in her eyes. Not pain or hope, tear or happiness but something else.

Time.

Years of living that make an old soul resident in the body of a youth. The experience of Life and Death, horned her soul as hard as steel before pain and strike and yet let her heart still full of compassion and caring. She was extraordinary, Nero thought when he saw her figure, small but walking steady; not even faltered even a bit after all happened.

Nero tightened his fists a little bit before he let out an extra breath, if Rose could walked pass here than so can he. Nero took a deep sigh, he wouldn't want to give up; especially not in front of the woman he just came to respect a lot.

For like what was eternity, Nero had walked with Rose within this endless dessert. Sometimes they talked a little bit about random things like the life they have outside the Trap. Much to his surprise, Rose was a golden child with flying score and got into a top notch school with scholarship.

"Then what the hell were you doing with Vergil? He is an ass."

"I was young and liked pretty things, namely Vergil's face." Rose laughed it off. "It run in the family, we all like beautiful and sparkling things so much that sometimes, we didn't think rationally."

"Glad to know my maternal family is a bunch of shallow people." Nero suddenly stopped when he saw Rose turned to look at him. "Sorry, I just..."

"No, you are actually right. More right than you know." Rose said with a thoughtful look on her face. "It going back, way back more and one hell of a story to tell. But not now."

Rose said when suddenly a sand storm appeared from nowhere whipping sand on their face making Nero temporarily stand at his spot. Bad choice as Nero felt the sand beneath his feet quickly turned into a hole that quickly swallowed him down.

"Nero, catch."

Nero heard Rose screamed out when he golden rope throw at him, his hands quickly caught the rope as he felt it like a snake pulling him out as the sand was pulling him down like the mouth of a monster trying to suck him down. After few moment of painfully pulling, Nero finally get out the sand hole as he jump and land steadily on the land before started to move around.

"Rose, where are you?"

Nero walked around, not daring to stop after that accident when he looked around but not seeing Rose anywhere.

"Up here."

Nero looked up when he saw Rose was flying or more like being lift into the storm, with nothing more than the golden rope that was holding her down with him.

"Hold on, I will pull you down."

Nero said when he started to pulled Rose down from the storm. Right then, Nero didn't bother to think why the hell he was the only who didn't affect in this storm while everything even Rose got blown by it.

And it wasn't easy to pull someone from the storm down even with the power of the demon, Nero huffed when he managed to grabbed Rose hand and hold her down tightly into his arm while continue to walk, not daring to stop.

"You okay?" Nero yelled when the wind was screaming around them.

"Yes." Rose screamed back, her top hat amazingly still on her head despite all the wind. "When we passed this storm, we will get to the hermit home."

Nero nodded when he continue to hold Rose tightly as the wind blow sand into his face hurt like knife cut. He looked down at Rose, who was clinging into his arms tightly, blood and cuts could be seen all over her face. But she didn't seemed to be fazed by it a single bit, as her eyes shine brightly when she pulled her top hat down to pull out an red umbrella.

As the umbrella opened, he felt an invisible field built around them as the sand hitting around it and then move. Nero took the umbrella on his other hand when he said:

"This is better than pulling out a rabbit out of the hat."

"I know." Rose said when she pulled out a handkerchief wiping her face from dirt and blood as her skin slowly healing. "My little cheat code when meeting the storm, help easier to walk in here."

Nero nodded when he hold the umbrella and Rose tightly the same time, although the sand did not whipping at his face and eyes, Nero could still feel the pull of the storm on both Rose and the umbrella making him had his hand full to keep both of those close to him.

And it wasn't easy that this storm seemed like endless one, like the dessert. But just Nero intended to say something about it, he saw it stopped.

And it made him almost stop at his track.

Almost.

As the sand stopped swirling around Nero, he could see a house or it looked like a house with riding on a giant centipede that was moving slowly, but moving, nonetheless.

"This is the hermit house?"

Rose nodded when she run to the side of the centipede where a small wooden ladder hanging around and climbed to it. Nero quickly follow her step and when they reached on top, he saw a frog like demon with horn an shark like teeth that was standing just in front of them.

"Nero, it's okay, he is my friend."

Rose said when she stopped Nero from withdraw his Blue Rose gun, Nero suspiciously lowered his gun down. The frog demon than just slowly turned into its human form, an old man with big belly wearing a cloak that have the yellow-green color similar to his demon form.

"Rose, it's quite pleasant to see you again."

The demon said, much to Nero surprise, his voice was velvet and silky with a perfect accent that made any human blush.

"I am glad to see you, Teacher."

"Please come in and rest, you two must be tired." The demon said when he opened the door. "Please excuse my sloppiness."

Nero raised his eyebrow when he saw the room was spotless and thankfully, a lot more cooling than the hell hole outside.

"Please, take a seat."

The Hermit said when he motioned them to seat, Rose nodded when they both seated on the wooden chair. Before it was exhausted to walked non-stop in the desert but now when he finally have the chance to take a break, Nero felt a little bit uncomfortable to not moving his feet like he had done for so long.

"So how long have we been in the dessert?" Rose asked when she put the top hat on her thighs.

"Half a year." The hermit said when he sat at a chair of his own, a golden one. "You took less time for a new comer to get here. But that was expected from the descendant of Sparda himself. May I ask for your name?"

"Nero."

"So you are Nero?" The Hermit smiled when he looked at Rose. "You looked nothing like your mother, I suppose your father gene are strong."

"I think it better that way." Rose said when she looked around. "You have changed this place a little bit."

"Yes, here and there, to kill some time that is endless for me." The Hermit said when his frog gray eyes looked at Nero. "May I have a few moment of private with the boy?"

"Should I be worry?" Rose asked when she stroked her hat a little bit.

"No, just a few words about his linage." The Hermit said. "You could use the bath, I am sure you needed it for relaxing."

"I supposed." Rose said when she looked at Nero. "Is it okay for me to leave?"

"I will be fine."

Nero said when she put his Blue Rose on his thigh, its nostrils staring right at the Hermit. Rose patted his shoulder lightly before she disappeared from the room.

"So what is it that you want to say to me?" Nero questioned.

"I am curious, about the bloodline of the Legendary Demon Sparda. He was already a great demon when he was still with us, but when he turned his back on our kin, his strength was even greater than before." The Hermit said with great amusement. "Make me think if humanity was such bad thing that demons said. I have spent aeon in here watching human female, one after one came in here to fight for their hope and their resilient always amaze me the most. Just when I thought that they are at their limit, they reached beyond and continue to strive through for Life and Hope. Something I myself have forsaken a long time ago."

The Hermit smiled sadly when he waved his hand, a small glass orb appeared before his face as something like an image appeared before his face. Nero looked at the glass orb as it show various place, the Empusa which were just quiet and no Empusa, the Camp where the Sister in there practicing sword and magic, or just day dreaming. The Brothel of Death where Variet was folding a piece of paper in to a small rose when sexual orgy played behind her back. He also saw a place look like a green glistening forest with golden mist flowing around that looked like a safe Haven before flashed into a land that looked like an ancient city that was damaged greatly by the war, with hundreds of Angelo welding enormous, deathly sword.

Next, he saw nothing but darkness at the orb blow up and a small drop of blood spill out from The Hermit's Eyes.

"Is that the Land of Illusion?" Nero questioned. "I thought it would be more."

"It is more, Nero. You didn't see anything from here because the Land of Illusion presented itself based on the mind that entered within it, and without mind, it was just darkness. Like a virus, can only active when it on its host."

"You knew about virus?" Nero asked. "Great, a nerdy demon. This place is officially out of my mind."

The Hermit chuckled before he spoke again but his voice more deep and seething in tone as the words rolled on his tongue:

"_The world was born from darkness. Unending darkness. A crucible of chaos. But even to that primordial existence there came a ray of light. The universe was eventually split in two. The darkness became the realm of demons... and the light became the domain of mortals. The two worlds existed together for what seemed like an eternity. But one day the lord of the dark world said... "These realms were once united, so why not rule them as one?"_

The Hermit smiled at Nero when he slowly said:

"Do you know, who is the demon king that first opened the portal to the Human World?"

"Mundus?" Nero said, not too certain about this.

"No, not Mundus. That pleasure belonged to The first King of the Underworld, The God of Demon, The Holder of Darkness." The Hermit hummed. "The First Born of the Creation: Moloch."

"I have never heard of him." Nero said.

"Yes, because he was punished a long time ago." The Hermit said. "Very long time, since the day he lifted to veil between the Underworld and the Mortal Plane that should have never been lifted."

"If he was that powerful, who could punish him?" Nero asked.

"Another God." The Hermit whispered. "The God that creates him, The God of All."

"That sounded like a bed time story than a fact."

"If six month ago someone tell you about a place where the dead can come back, will you believe them or will you think that it was just a fairy tale?"

Nero was silent; he knew that The Hermit was right. He wouldn't believe him if he didn't see by his very own eyes.

"So what does it have to do with me?"

"Legend said that because of his sin, he was locked away in a prison world, where existed outside of time and space; where there was no way out. Not even in Death."

"You mean..." Nero said when it dawn on him. "It was here."

"I am not sure, but so far this place seemed to be met with all the condition." The Hermit said. "Making you have to ask yourself, if it was wise to seek a way out."

"I am getting the hell out of here." Nero paused for a moment. "And Rose too."

"Don't you afraid that you release a great demon out of the world?" The Hermit asked.

"Hell no. If it was like what you told me, than this place should be no way out and no way in." Nero snickered. "If there is a way in, then it always having a way out. Always."

"I am glad that you can think it through." Contentment was laced in his voice. "If you can't see your reason throughout, you cannot make your way out of the Land of Illusion. It needs to have a strong mind clinging tightly to Hope and Light to get pass the Darkness and Despair that it show you."

Nero contemplated when he saw the Hermit sit there with his eyes closed and back rested back to the chair, despite his overly big belly, his demeanor looked like human. Heck, more human than he or Rose look like. Could this be an effect of this place did to people, made demon more human like and human...

_Less human._

Nero thought when he saw Rose walked out, she was completely clean and fresh with a look of pleasant spread around her face. Nero noticed the way she walked pass the chair of The Hermit to sit next to him, her footstep was too soft and the way she moved was too gracefully for a normal human.

"You should go clean up too. The bathroom was the second room on the right, in the hallway."

Rose whispered to him with a small glint of care in her eyes, Nero nodded when he stood up and go to the bathroom. Although he did not felt thirsty and that much need to clean up, it felt a lot better to have water run into his skin and clean all the dirt on his body. As Nero picked up his clothes again, he saw it clean and free from any kind of dirt. Yeah, he should felt good about this but Nero only felt that feeling of uneasiness crept its way to him.

"This fucking piece of shit for a hell hole."

Nero cursed lightly when he walked out of the living room, he saw The Hermit was singing a song, more like a lullaby in an ancient language that Rose was closing her eyes while listening to it. When the lullaby over, Rose opened her eyes when she smiled:

"Thank you, Teacher. That is a lovely song."

"You are welcome, my dear." The Hermit said when he shifted lightly in the chair. "If you two wanted to cross to the fourth layers, normally you will have to fight and defeat me and my familiar, namely Mrs. Kara that was kindly carrying us under. But I felt like we could set this in a more intellectual way. Solve my riddle, and you will be free to go out of here."

"Shoot." Nero said.

"Very well, this question is for you and only for you, blood of Sparda." The Hermit said. "What is in the world that in the morning runs by four legs, by noon runs by two and by afternoon, run by three?"

"That's it? That is your big question."

Nero asked in surprise, he thought it would be more nerve wrecking than this; pretty sure a kid could answer this question easily. He saw Rose and the Hermit both silently smiled at him, the answer was already on his tongue but Nero bit it back. Nero thought to himself a little bit when he ruffed his hair a little bit then said:

"There is none."

"How's so?"

"Because time does not flow in this world." Nero said when he thought carefully. "No day, no noon, no afternoon. Just the dark."

Nero felt the urge to stop breathing when he saw the Hermit said nothing, before he plastered a smile on his face.

"It seemed that you finally accepting the rule of this world instead of trying to make sense it by using the rule of your world." The Hermit said in pleasant. "It will be a great help for you to pass the layers after this."

The Hermit then stood up and opened the door, but this time a thick white mist have surrounded all around them.

"May the Hope be with you."

The Hermit said calmly to them. Nero nodded when he took Rose hand before they both went into the thick mist, ready to enter the fourth layer.


	6. Chapter 5

Nero looked at the scenery around him. This place was beautiful; he had to admit that. The enormous trees that were tall and reached high in sky, its branches spreading around and covered almost the whole sky while the golden glowing mist flow softly like a small stream in the air, lighten the air and making the forest seemed to have a fairy tale like look to it. The grass felt so soft under his foot when he stepped forward, that feeling of something was crawling under his skin disappeared completely and replaced with a sudden of sense of tiredness. Nero groggily rubbed his eyes, he never have the urge to sleep that much.

"Hang in there, baby."

Rose said when she gave him quite strong smack in the back, enough to make him slightly jump out from his sleepiness.

"Baby?" Nero questioned when he walked with Rose. "Nobody call me baby even when I was baby."

"Well, I do now." Rose said when she let out a deep yawn. "What? Got any smart and sarcastic retort back to me?"

"Not really." Nero said. "I don't even have energy to feel angry."

"Well, this place was the fourth layer for some reason. It didn't attack you in any physical form, it just making you comfortable. So comfortable you could die."

"That I could start to feel." Nero said with his shoulder slightly slugged down. "Growing up, I never really have a lot peaceful moment. Kids picked on me and called my mom a prostitute. Then I joined the job as a devil hunter, peaceful isn't exactly the job description."

Nero stopped at talk when he saw Rose's face and cursed lightly within his mind, this place had made him comfortable. Too comfortable to think before he said.

"Look, I..."

"I have never laid with anyone beside Vergil." Rose said quietly.

"I know. You are not that kind of person." Nero said. "Sorry, it's just this place..."

"No, I get it, you didn't mean to say anything. Trust me, I said a lot of thing without thinking around too much so I am not mad at you." Rose said when she sighed. "It's just that it reminded me about a story that was passed down into my family for generations, about our origin."

"What is about it?"

"Long time ago, there was this village girl. She was hideous, as ugly as one could ever imagine that her parents shunned her away from the moment she was born. Nonetheless she was still survived because at that time; they believed if a child died of starving and uncared, it will became a ghost and haunted their parents. So her parents, despite their utmost disgust, have to make sure she lived. The girl survived to be an adult, only this time got kicked out of the villager who considered her a shame in their eyes and left with nothing but a rag on her body in a middle of snow."

"So after a few days of trying to fend herself, the girl was weaken and about to die because of starving and cold. At her dying breath, she let out a desperate and angry pray. She prayed not only to god but whoever could listen to her that she would gave them anything include her soul and body if they give her power to revenge. And someone did listen, but it wasn't god."

"Let me guess, a demon?"

"I don't know, but according the lore said that it was a figure wearing a hood that as dark as night itself and the voice could make the people turned to ice. So yeah, I think it was a demon." Rose said. "So the entity appeared before the girl, it said that it wanted her soul and her entire bloodline and if the girl gave it the permission, the entity would give her the power she needed."

"She agreed?"

"Yes, eagerly. The entity then reached out with its long claws as it ripped her heart out from her chest only to put another one into. But different with the heart that it ripped out, which were ugly and nothing but wrench of meat, this heart was made of pure gold and shining with celestial light. As the golden heart went in her chest, the girl could felt her body changing. Her skin which was once full of blisters and scabies then had turned into as smooth as the finest pearl. Her hair which was one dull and dirty became soft and light like silk. Her face which was one the definition of ugly now has turned beautiful beyond imagination. She had become the most beautiful woman that the world could ever see."

"How did get beautiful have to do anything with revenge?" Nero asked puzzled.

"I was getting there. After receive the new heart and beauty, Inanna then returned to the village. Men went wild by her beauty, they lost control and started to fight each other to get her. Fights were quickly escalated into killing spree and madness. The girl then, sitting in the chair, watching as the people who once shunned her away were than dying just to get a smile from her. The blood of the men in her village turned in a pool and wet her feet and she felt the more they fought for her, a surge of power rise within her body. When the killing spree ended and one emerged out as the winner, as the man trying to claim his prize, he felt himself burnt alive by a fire that appeared by Inanna mere thought. Soon after that, every woman and children that was living in there burnt to death. The once weak girl than discovered that the more people died because of her, whether it's by her own hand or other, the more power she get. That is the birth of the new monster that was much horrible than a demon itself, as its walked on Earth using its wicked beauty and lies to sought out power and death, even got worshipped as the goddess of love and beauty in a legion, Inanna. That monster was our ancestor."

"Seriously, that girl which got her heart ripped out and got a new one instead." Nero asked. "That actually happened."

"Hey, you grow your arm out. Don't be so surprise." Rose said. "When I heard about your arm, the first thing I got in my mind was this story. I don't know if you grow your arm out because your father heritage or mine, but I really hope that's Vergil's side."

"How's so?"

"Well, when you said we are shallow, it's true. The people in my family love beautiful things and we are vain. Heck, it's tradition to spend one whole day each year just to dress up and take the most beautiful picture of ourselves every year. And we didn't have tombs, we just have the most beautiful picture of ourselves taken the most recently hanging in the crypt as memorial. Our remains are burned and dump in the river or sea, because we don't want anyone to see us ugly bones. Not to mention, didn't you see me? I am pregnant with a child in my teen because I cannot stay away from a handsome stranger. It's like when we blessed with the golden hearts, we also cursed with the obsession of beauty.

"So you really have a golden heart, for real?" Nero asked curiously.

"Yes, but you didn't, which is a good thing." Rose said. "The golden heart after that woman's era was a burden than a gift. Sure, if one got it, they will be blessed with beauty and power but somewhere in the line, there was this rumor that if one consumed a golden heart, they will be blessed with power and beauty. Bad thing is, it turned out to be true, and hence we got hunted by those people like animal to get our heart served on the plate. Luckily, a Magician in our line had invented a spell that erase all the memories and book related to the golden heart family and thanks to that we are not all dead now. So since then we don't call ourselves witch or warlock anymore but using the title as The Magician to honor that person. "

"That is another level of dark." Nero asked. "How did you know I didn't have a golden heart?"

"You didn't have a magic aura around you, only demonic." Rose said when she looked at him. "But I fear that the golden heart bloodline may have some effect on you, namely the growing arm back. But we could only hope that was the only thing you got, being vain and uncontrollable attract to beautiful thing was not a good characteristic to retain good relationship. In the history, there were countless time women and men in my family called whore for not being able to control their urge and lure their desired target to their arms."

"I think you can control it just fine." Nero said. "With face like yours, you could lure a lot of hot guy. Instead, you stick with just one guy, even though he is an ass."

"Thanks." Rose said. "I wanted to comment about how you shouldn't call your father an ass but judge by the fact he dumped me that bad, it would be a lie that I don't feel the same."

"What did he do?"

"The usual Vergil stuff, blah blah blah, he is on his quest for power, blah blah blah, I was a distraction, blah blah blah, he won't see me again."

"That sounded like a lot of the power hunger Vergil I know." Nero said. "Make me wish I punched him harder."

"Don't do that. Punch your dad is not cool." Rose said when she took a deep sigh. "Do you feel sleepy?"

"A lot, but not at much as I would though." Nero tried to contain a yawn. "This compare to the walk was a lot easier."

"Not for me, even now, I felt like I could drop down any moment. If it wasn't that I have passed this so many time, I would have knocked down now." Rose said when she yawned. "Guess that demon blood of your kicking in. I think this place was made for mainly human, not demons or hybrids so you are not affected that much. You are so lucky, you know that."

"I couldn't say lucky when I got dragged into this place." Nero said when he stretched his arm. "God, I could really use a lay down. Didn't feel this comfortable ever since got in here."

"Before the invention of the Chamber, a lot of sister had laid their body in here for an eternal rest." Rose said. "Look, there is still a remnant of where they laid."

Nero looked to other side, he could see a lot of bedding that looked really comfortable and painfully alluring to him but he forced himself to walk forward. When he got home, he definitely was going to lay sleep in bed for the whole day. As they continue to walked, as slow and groggily as they could along with a few times smacking each other back and twisted their ear and hip, they finally came to the fourth layer's boundary.

"Thank god it's finally here." Rose said when she had to grab on to Nero arm to prevent her from falling. "Let's go."

Nero felt the coldness of the mist splash his face as he felt jolted awake. The walk he just did felt like a dream, a pleasant one indeed. It actually felt good, soothed him from the tired after the Endless Walk. After they emerged from the mist, Nero blinked his eyes to the scene before his eyes.

It looked like an ancient city in ruin, Nero thought when he looked carefully around, with marks of battle and clashing armies.

"Let's go there."

Rose said when she pointed a small hut not far from where they stood, Nero quickly followed her as they both ducked their head low. When they get into the hut, Rose let out a small sigh when she looked through the small window.

"We are in luck, they haven't engaged yet."

"What?"

"In the Runaway, after exact eight hours, there will always be a battle between the knight demons, namely the Angelo that lasted for two hours." Rose said. "The fight was brutal and unpredictable which side will win, and so does this damage around here. Follow my experience, this hut was the place with minimum hit on in this area. If we are lucky again, we could wait here safely until fight over and tried to reach to end of this place. But it's not just that, on the way we have to hide from the demon that was on patrol and resting. So this requires being extra careful and delicate."

"So this place is where you perfected your illusion spell?" Nero said when he saw Rose looked at him surprise. "It's impossible to always dodge every guards, you will have to encounter one at one point. And since you cannot fight them, the only explanation that you distracted them with that illusion of yours."

"I have a lot of practice, and a knight in here showed me where I needed to perfect my illusion." Rose said.

"I thought demons were compelled to kill you."

"Yes, but he isn't exactly a demon. Not a born one, at least." Rose said.

"An artificial demon." Nero asked. "Does he belong to the Order of the Sword?"

"Yes and no." Rose said. "He was a created one, but not by the Order and more like an experiment that got lost. So he is demon but the same time, he still human enough to remain not be compelled like his fellow comrade. If we could find him, our run in here will be a lot easier."

"Easier said than done."

Nero said when he saw two armies of Angelo, one black and one white, like pawns in a massive chess game started to pouring out like ants. He looked at the demon riding on their horned horses and welding their enormous sword gleaming with demonic energy clashing together. The fight was what Rose called, brutal as it could be imagine when demons cut down each other with brute force. Their grunted and screamed echoes the sky and Nero could felt his heart quickened pace when he felt the heated moment of fighting.

"This lasted for two hours?" Nero said. "Man, I think it needed a lot longer to settle down."

"The rule in here said that after two hours, both sides will have to stop and which side has fewer demons that side loses." Rose said. "The winning side than will earn the right the stay in the Deep Slumber for two hours before they are pulled back and prepare to fight."

"Well, that's new. I thought demon can't cross between the layers."

"Depend on the rule on each layer, but I got a feeling that nearer the Border, the rule in here got a little bit looser for the demon." Rose said. "Nonetheless, we have to go to through the no attack rule in here. I don't want to risk you getting beheaded or stabbed in the chest by your own self."

"Didn't plan to do it either."

As Nero and Rose observed closely and carefully the fight going on, to his surprise, despite the destruction of nearby building, this place really suffered the least. As the time ended, the two armies suddenly stood down. Nero felt Rose poke at his arm before she silently left with Nero quickly followed.

Nero hearing the loud footstep of the black armies when it marched to the forest whiles the white armies stayed behind. As Rose quickly found a manhole cover and lifted it up before she jumped down to it. Rose quickly in silent run in what looked like an underground tunnel, Nero could hear the sound of heavy footstep on his head as the color the white armor flashed through the small hole of the tunnel. When they entered a room that made by dirt, Rose finally said:

"Okay, we are safe here." Rose breathed out. "That was very lucky, this time the white army lose. If the black army loses, there will be no way we made to the tunnel in time as they are very fast to dispatch."

"Yeah, that went really well." Nero said. "I thought the higher layer is supposed to, I don't know, harder."

"It's harder for human." Rose said. "But you are part demon, so I guessed this place a little bit more favor for you, both physically and mentally, not to mentioned, luck. If it was me along with another sister, we would definitely get mauled a few times before we could get here."

"How many times have you died?" Nero asked when he sat on floor.

"I lost count."

Rose said when pulled out two old bedding and a small clock timing clock.

"Hey, now it's time to get some sleep. When that clock rang, we will be good to go again."

Nero nodded when he lied down to the bedding, he saw Rose put her top hat on her face and started to breath softly when she lied to bedding right next to him. Sleep didn't come as hard as he thought, the feeling of something crawling under his skin was still there but the memories of the Deep Slumber still fresh in his mind and thank to that, he could concentrate on it and let himself dozed off for a while.

When Nero woke up, he felt the clock ringing softly next to his ear. Nero stretched his shoulder to look around, Rose was nowhere to be found. But then he saw a top hat poking in the door and Rose smiling face appeared:

"Nero, I have someone I wanted to introduce you to." Rose said when she led a man dress in a white simple shirt and black pants. "Lance, this is Nero, my son."

"Good to see you."

Lance said when he showed his hand to Nero. Nero shook his hand a little bit when he blinked between Lance and Rose, the striking resemblance between them was in no denial. Lance was quite young; with boyish but handsome look, pearly white skin and raven hair. Heck, this guy looked like Rose's son than Nero was. But judge by his old fashion looked of his clothes, Nero thought that this guy maybe their ancestor or something.

"His name is Lance Kalinsky, I am Rose Kalinsky; and as you can see we are definitely relative." Rose said when she pointed at her face and Lance.

"She looked like my sister a lot." Lance kindly said. "You two came here quite smooth, I can see."

"Yeah, better than I imagine." Nero said when he looked at Lance. "So what is the plan?"

"Well, the tunnel could only lead you halfway to the mist, you have to go the surface to get to your destination. I could escort both of you to the mist so you two could go safely there. But if met a dispatch of soldier fighting each other, which I think we surely than I think that we have to fight them."

"How? I thought we can't fight back in here."

"No, you can't. But I can." Lance said. "You could help me defense and block the attack, I could deliver a fine blow."

"So we are meat shield and you are a sword." Nero snickered. "That sounds just right."

"Nero, it's okay." Rose said. "We can trust Lance, he helped me since I first got here. He helped me and a lot of Sister gets through here."

Nero clenched his jaws lightly; deep down inside he knew that he should listen to Rose. She was here longer than he did a lot and so far, she had kept them safe from harm very well. But the thought of laying his life for someone he didn't know this much make him feel purely annoyance. Like everything else in this world.

"Nero, it's okay, trust me."

Rose said softly when she touched his arms lightly, Nero hesitantly nodded when he said to Lance.

"I only do this because I trust Rose."

"I know."

Lance said when he turned his back, Nero and Rose follow in suit. They quickly end up at the end of the tunnel where they climbed up onto a ladder to the surface. Lance was the one who came out first, after looking around carefully he finally gave them a signal to get out.

The two get out of the tunnel as Rose wand started to spark out the small dark smoke covered them. Rose smile when she tapped her wand lightly on her hat:

"It's like a small illusion shield, help us go unnoticed if no one particular looking for us. Very handy when a group of soldier just walked by."

Rose said in a small whispered when she quickly walked behind Lance, who now just walked in a perfect fast but steady pace. Nero felt his shoulder slightly tense when he saw a group of ten black Angelo crossed pass them. At first glance, they looked like a Cavalier Angelo but now when he got the close up, he saw they are quite different. Their armors were a lot more human light when shining light reflected on it, there was no horn but the helmet was more pointy and slightly thicker.

As the trio walked passed another group, suddenly a voice raise from behind them as he saw a Black Angelo riding horse stood right in their path:

"Lovely little Rose, going somewhere with her knights?"

Lance's body turned rigid as he saw the Angelo, in just a swift movement, his human form completely shredded as a White Angelo stood with his sword shining on his arm.

"Go with the kid, I will deal with him."

Lance said in his gruff voice when he charged at the Black Angelo, as both Rose and Nero quickly run away from the fight that was attracted more Angelos. They quickly run into a small crumbling house to hide away from dozen of Angelo that was run to them, at sometimes almost being caught.

"Who is he? I think he knew you." Nero asked when he saw more and more demon started to gather and fight.

"Yeah, you can say he have a crush on me." Rose said when she looked through the window.

"Really?" Nero asked surprised. "So he is like Lance, an artificial demon or something?"

"Yes, except Lance turned into a demon because he was wounded badly and that was the only way for him to live. That Ass however, was there because he was captured after killing sixteen maiden, all brunette and young."

"Serial killer demon. No wonder you ran so fast." Nero said.

"Yeah, I was choked to death by him four times before I got the chance to get away thanks to Lance." Rose rolled her eyes. "I think he was the only one in this Trap who actually enjoyed in here and the continuously killing."

"So what are we doing now? Waiting for it to come down, again?"

"No, we keep moving." Rose shook her head. "Kaine maybe an asshole, but he is an excellent tracker and fighter. Lance can only keep him out for so long, the longer we stayed down the easier he got us surrounded."

Rose said when she tugged her top hat lightly, Nero noticed her shoulder lightly shaken when she mentioned that demon Kaine that she probably didn't notice. Nero gave a quick look behind him before he went with Rose, then was not the time to discuss about this.

Nero ran up with Rose with her top hat, without Lance, their walk was a lot harder when there are a lot of demons started to notice them more. And finally when their luck ran out, they were stopped by a group of Black Angelo stood right before them. Rose gave Nero a quick glance before she waved her wand around. The earth tremble around them as the humanoid figures rose from it with black vines with long sword like arm and head like hammer.

The Earthy Golems launched an attack with the Angelo which quickly cut down by the Angelo brute force. But the moment the Golem got cut down, the black vines twisted on its body and pulled back the pieces back to its mutated form.

"Nero."

Rose said when one of Anglo about the cut down on her, Nero pulled out his Red Queen and block down its sword. Right that moment, a dark phantom rose out and pierced the Angelo chest with its sword arm before it swiftly came back to the Earth. As the battle lasted, with the Golem whom weaker in strength and speed but won at their resilient and patience, and Nero blocked the attack at them for the Phantom to get a sneak attack. Not his favorite way to fight, but Nero had to bite it as this wasn't a fight to begin with. This was a run for survival, nothing more nothing less.

Nero kicked hard at an Angelo whom just about to jump at him, winced lightly when he felt his abdomen throb out with pain. The phantom quickly cut its head out before it disappeared, leaving them a field full of demon bodies.

"We need to move, we don't have much time before they come back to life." Rose said when she breathlessly leaned on Nero back. "I couldn't walk proper for a while; can you carry me for a little? "

"Just keep your head down and go steady, I have casted a spell around us from being seen. Don't worry for me, I will just sleep for a while, just keep going no matter what."

Nero nodded when he felt Rose laid on his back as he carried her, her breathing started to become slow as he felt her hand limp on his back.

He knew.

He knew exactly what was happened to her. Despite using the Golem as an intermediate way to lessen the wounds received from the fight, Rose still got plenty of them on her body. He could smell the metal her blood, saw the way her nose slightly twitch in pain each time a demon got slayed down. She was receiving lethal wounds one after another, and the only reason she could still standing until the end was only because of her will.

Nero felt his nose slightly burning when his paced slightly missed as he felt Rose heartbeat stopped completely. He knew she would come back later, but this feeling of someone died right on your back wasn't easy to bear.

Especially, when that was the woman gave birth to him.

Still, Nero kept running toward, he felt that although he faced many demons on his road, their attention on him and Rose wasn't much. It made him realized that it was because the human with him was gone and since they didn't see him as a human or an enemy they have to fight, they let him out easily. Nero avoided thinking about the fact that Rose may probably knew about this, and she maybe decided to die so him could pass this place with her being a dead weight.

"Guess you hated that word as much as I do, huh?"

Nero said, he knew Rose probably couldn't hear him but he couldn't help it. Nero gritted his teeth as he continued to run his way through the crumbling city. His feeling was mess; just a few months ago he discovered he had a family; a father and an uncle to be exact but then the moment he managed to stop them from killing each other, they ditched him to seal the gate of the Underworld.

It would be a lie to say that wasn't sting or hurt.

And there was the aftermath where Nero had to cleaned up the mess that his old man created; to see the pain and loss of the people left behind suffered that compared to them, his loss was puny and small.

Now, when he can finally meet the mother that he grew up resented, he realized that she never for one moment giving up on him.

Even if it meant to die over and over again.

Nero felt behind his back a white light emit as Rose's heartbeat started to come back. He took a deep breath before he talked, hoping that his voice wasn't so shaky:

"You okay?"

"I am fine." Rose said softly when she rested her chin on his shoulder. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I am all right." Nero said when he tightened his hold on her. "You should get more rest, we could travel for a while before we met to another Angelo."

"Yeah."

Rose nodded lightly when she looked behind her back, there was nothing followed them now. At least now she knew that they wasn't chasing after Nero when she was dead. But instead of feeling calm, Rose felt slightly restless when she saw Nero white hair. He was the first male ever get here as a human, but Nero wasn't exactly a human either.

Ever since they go through the fourth layer, Rose had a feeling of uneasiness when she could just felt that the obstacle they met was easier than usual. Sure, Nero was a formidable fighter and that demon heritage of him helped a lot. But the moment they entered the Runaway, Rose could just feel that something was off.

She had passed this layer for many times, and to reach to the end without bumping into Kaine she had to die at least three times. But this time, they only met with one attach and Kaine was amazingly kept back behind this much by Lance. It felt too easy, too much.

Rose couldn't help but felt something ominous about this, especially about The Hermit's theory about this place and of her own origin.

Nero's origin.

"Hey Nero, I can walk now, you can let me down."

Rose said, shaking all those negative out of her head, it wasn't good to enter the Land of Illusion with doubts plague her mind. She needed to focus on what before her eyes now, her son.

Still, this feeling of uneasiness lingered when Rose saw the huge wall of white mist before their eyes. Normally she would have to die ten times to get here, but now just once, everything about this just screamed out too good to be true.

And normally in her experience, it was.

"Now, there will be no going back." Rose said when she stared at the white mist.

"Not that it was even an option."

Nero said as him and Rose looked at each other eyes for a moment before they nodded to each other when they walked into the mist.


	7. Chapter 6

When Nero walked through the white mist, he saw nothing but darkness surrounded him. But Nero knew better, from what basically everyone he met here told him, it was the most dangerous thing he would ever encounter.

His own mind.

Nero blinked when he felt the darkness surrounded him slightly shifted as he moved forward. Nero was told to not believe anything that the Land of Illusion show him, but the image of his own home and the Devil May Cry's van showed up before his eyes was so real that Nero thought for a moment, that this was the reality.

Nonetheless, Nero still kept going pass the house as he continued to moving forward.

"Nero."

He heard the sound of Kyrie screaming out in pain as demons in pack crawling into the house, he even heard Nico's voice screamed out:

"Nero, you jackass, where the hell are you going? Help us."

Their scream echoed in his ear making Nero jolted at feet, he could hear the sound of the flesh crushing of the demon eating on the flesh as the screamed and voice of the girls died out.

It was not true, Nero thought to himself when he continued to walk, it was just an illusion. Maybe too realistic, but still, just an illusion. Nero continued to moving forward, he could feel the scene changed before his eyes as he saw Credo being impaled by Sanctus before he fallen on the ground. Nero looked at his former best friend whom sitting on the ground, breathing heavily as he looked straight at Nero:

"Please, come back and save Kyrie."

Nero clenched his fist when he saw his home burning with demons flowed from everywhere attack it, he turned his back again them as he said:

"You are dead and Kyrie wasn't here."

Nero continued to walk, he could feel memories from his head being plunged out and began to be played in a twisted way of him. He saw Dante and Vergil, fighting each other again only this time without him stopping them, they have successfully killed each other, none came out alive. A swamp of demon came out from the Demon World began to eating people, scream started to echoes in his ear as he saw red blood and fire engulfed all over the place.

"It's not real."

Nero reminded to himself when he continue to walk, the scene changed again when he saw his home again with Kyrie and Nico, but this time he saw them being torn apart right before his face, Nero couldn't help but feeling cringe. He touched on his face as he felt the hot blood spattered on it, the stink of blood and its warmth.

Too real.

"So this is the place that taught you the illusion huh?"

Nero said when he took a deep breath that smell full of smoke and blood, his feet felt heavy as the look of Nico and Kyrie before they die.

No, they didn't die, Nero thought to himself. This was just an illusion, as realistic as it was, it was not the truth. Like Rose's magic trick, it could fool all his sense but as long as he didn't believe it then it was still not the truth.

As he continued on his quest, Nero have watched as the scene of his beloved one died over and over, the regret that he had over the year as sometimes the anguish and resentment that he never knew he had until now.

"_Nero, you always know which path is right, and which is wrong. There's no need to doubt yourself."_

Nero repeated what Kyrie said to him at the Quilphoth tree in his head over and over again, that was the only thing kept him sane in here, the fact that he was right. That the path he chose was right, and everything that he left out on the road was just an illusion.

That it didn't matter.

He saw another scene of Kyrie dying before his eyes, blood soaked her clothes as her face scrunched in horror under their crumble house before Nero turned away. Nero had passed many battle, carry many scar and pain yet this left him wounded the most. Not the fact that his beloved ones died before his eyes, but the fact that he let them died and turned away when they needed him the most.

"It's not real."

Nero said this to himself for a million times, irony that when the words came out of his mouth, it felt surreal compare to what he saw. But that was his straw of saving, because without it, then he would have gone insane. Like that woman Moanna, whom face then just a distance blur to him but he still remember her haunting empty eyes before she gave up on her own life.

He must strive on, because that what he was, he was Nero.

He didn't give up.

Not on his own mind.

Nero felt a numbing pain throbbing behind his head as he barely walked a head him, the endless loop of seeing the same pain and loss had rendered him so tired that he could felt that his head was started to spinning. And yet, he still keep thrive on as the scene changed.

It was not what Nero expected to see.

He was standing in a small garden, but beautiful and carefully taken care of, nonetheless. He saw a white swing, red roses, green grass and a plum tree with its branches sprawling covered the whole corner of the garden. Under there, he saw a man in his forty holding a baby in black blanket, his hand shaken as he carefully put the baby down to the soft grass. A young woman stood next to him, she was extremely beautiful in her red hair and piercing blue eyes when she gazed at the baby with an unreadable look:

"Mother, it could be me..."

"No."

The voice of the woman ringing in the air was firm and strong without any hesitation, the woman looked at the man:

"Your magic and years of living are nothing compare to me, my heart would meant more protection to him. I have lived long; long to felt that it enough. Dying for a child who barely felt sunshine on his face seemed to be a fitting and beautiful end for me." The woman said when she took out a dagger. "It's an end that I couldn't ask for more."

"What is about my life?" The man asked. "How am I supposed to live after...?"

"You will do just fine." The woman said, her strong voice faltered slightly, just slightly. "You know that this is worth it, that this will hide our Nero long enough so he can grow strong enough to get his mother and himself out of that forsaken place when it finds him. Galahad, you are a big boy and you know that I wanted this; I needed to do this. You will be fine."

The man's hand began to shaken lightly as he accepted the dagger in his hand. The woman blue eyes like piercing through his soul as his hand tighten on the dagger before he stabbed it right into his mother heart. Tears streaming on his aged face as he pulled out the knife, golden blood was dripping from the dagger and the woman's body had fallen limply on the grass.

The man bent down to his knee to the sleeping child on the grass, tears and blood dripping the child face as the man started to drawing sign and sigil on the baby forehead. As the blood began to glow and slowly absorbed into his skin, the man so gently hold the baby up and slightly rock him:

"Please, my little Nero, please be safe. You are the only thing Rose left behind on this world, and it would kill me if anything happened to you too." The man eyes turned to the woman on the grass. "It had already killed her for what happened to Rose."

The man continued to sob when he hugged the child close to his chest as the darkness began to cover everything. A drop of tears fallen in the corner of his eyes, this time he didn't say to himself that this wasn't real.

This, he could feet, was real. This was a memory of his own, untwisted, untouched by this unholy place.

"Poor little Nero, using years of hating people who abandoned him at the footstep of the orphanage only to realize that it was you that turned your back on them." A voice, so high, so seething and yet so enticing and evil the same time ringing into his ears. "You were so focused on that all of that glory part of your heritage, your father and your uncle shining devil form that you just left those whose tear and blood shed for your life behind. It couldn't help it, after all, that maternal family of you was just a bunch nameless vain weakling that all they can do is waving some sparkling light."

"They are not." Nero gritted his teeth. "They are not weak."

"Sure they are. Compare to you and your father, they are nothing."

"They are not nothing." Nero spat at the voice when he continue to move forward. "They are brave, they are selfless and they are strong."

"They are my family."

Nero screamed out when his blue wings stretched out in full length and smashing into it, he could felt it slowly cracking beneath under his glowing blue wing before revealing a glowing white mist. A mental exhaustion washed over his mind as Nero walked through the mist, he blinked to see wherever he was standing.

The sky was black with red lining on it, fleshy looked like tree with eyes ball on it with black roots rugged on the deep crimson soil. A light scent of mild blood mix with sulfur flew to his nostril making Nero scrunched his nose slightly.

"This is the Underworld."

Nero said to himself when he felt the air shifted in to his skin; he could feel it, deep inside his blood and instinct although he never there himself. Like longing voice call itself within him, this was where half of his heritage came from.

Nero took a deep breath when he looked around to keep himself calm, no sign of Rose or whatsoever.

"Rose."

Nero called out but the white mist still remained unmoved, the silent fallen on his ear as Nero was the only one standing on the field.

"Rose."

"Rose."

"ROSE."

Nero screamed out in despair when he remembered the red hair woman laid lifelessly on the grass, the hot burning tears of the man dripped on his forehead along with her blood. His grandpa cry in despair; his great grandmother blood all over the grass and his mother limp body on his back. He could not bear another person life in the family lied in his shoulder again, not like this.

Nero yelled out her name again and again, but there was still no sign of her. An invisible fist tightened his heart as he saw the white mist on before his eyes stood still.

"MOM."

The white mist before his face suddenly started to waver as a wand came through. Nero let out a shaky breath as he saw a familiar top hat poke out as Rose barely walked out on her wobble feet.

"Mom."

Nero ran to Rose to help her up, her eyes looked slightly dilated when she looked up to him, her hands touched his face lightly.

"Nero, you are alive."

"Yes, I am." Nero said. "I am alive, so do you."

"That's good." Rose said breathlessly. "That's good."

"Come on, we need to find somewhere safe to stay." Nero said when he put one of Rose's arm over his shoulder. "It's not safe here."

"There is a cave in that direction." Rose said, her voice slightly tremble when she started to walk on her foot. "It's not far from here, and we could find some shelter until we could both...could both recovered."

Nero nodded when he helped Rose get to the place. Once they get into the cave, he let Rose sit down on the ground when he sat next to her. He glanced at Rose face, she looked a little bit more calm as her breath had been less shaky. Nero looked at his hand, which were then at his own surprise, not as steady as he thought.

"Yeah, The Land of Illusion is not the place that you wanted to cross the second time." Rose said when she clenched her hand into fist tightly until her knuckle turned white before let it open. "It took a while for your body and mind to actually corporate again, so just breathe deeply and we will be okay."

"Thanks." Nero said when Rose started to breathe loudly. "Mom."

Rose for a moment looked bewildered like she couldn't believe in her own ears before the word sunk into her mind. As a small blush formed on her cheeks, Rose nodded her head as she smiled at him before slightly moved closer to his arm to seek comfort and warm. The two sat in silent for a while, and although they both haunted by the nightmare of their own mind, they had a small glimmer of happiness of finding each other again.

Nero looked at Rose, whom then looked a lot calmer as her hand had stopped trembling. She then turned her head at him when she asked:

"You want to talk about it?"

"No." Nero said when he shook his head. "You?"

"No."

Rose said before she looked at the ground. Nero stared her hair braided into a tight raven braid, her big black eyes still looked so shine and bright even under the bad light of the Underworld. What will their fate be like, if this place hadn't dragged them down.

Nero would live in a family whom loving and caring to him instead of an orphanage; he would probably never go on his Devil hunting career but instead became some nerdy kid like his mom and grandpa. Rose would probably graduate college and become a biologist or anything she wanted, and perhaps even found a new love. Their life would have been better; even he dared say, perfect and full of happiness.

All those possibilities, all those hopes, were ripped away by this place.

"We will get out of here." Nero said. "We have to."

Rose didn't say anything when she nodded, she clutched tightly at her wand when she stood up to look outside the cave.

"From this to The Gate will be quite a walk, with a lot of strong demons running around." Rose said. "But compare to the Runaway, where we couldn't fight back then with your strength and mine combined, it won't be hard. The problem was getting inside the Gate."

"Mom, there is something I need to tell you first." Nero said. "We are no longer in the Trap."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"This is the Underworld, we are in it." Nero said. "I could feel it."

Rose looked surprised for a moment before she looked outside. It took a while when Rose finally said:

"You sure?"

"Yes." Nero said. "It's not something I could be mistake with."

"Then that explained a lot of things." Rose said when she looked up to the sky. "Like how things in here could grow and die like normal, and how when I die, I was dragged back to the beginning."

"Vergil is in here and he had the Yamato that can cut a portal to Earth, if we could just..."

"We can't, Nero, I wish we could do that; but we can't." Rose said when she pointed out at the white mist. "We may be in the Underworld, but like you can feel it in your blood, I could also feel the grasp of The Trap still in here. That mist surrounded all around this place like a barrier, if we passed there the only we get is back to the Illusion Land. I think that despite this place is the Underworld, it's still belonged partly to the Trap and no one can get in and get out of this place calling for help. And there is this."

Rose said when she pulled out from her hat of what looked like a flora quilted blanket before shove it back to the hat.

"This is just a simple transportation magic, I could pulled any object from a specific place, for sample, my room in the Camp. But this magic is only work if it in the same world and dimension, it's not a high class magic that could do slit through the space between the two world that had been sealed away. We maybe in the Underworld, but the same time, this still belonged to the Trap."

Nero took a frustrated sigh when he rubbed his hair, he had to admit that Rose got this right. Nero could still feel something crawling under his skin, despite being very faint, but still it was there. He stood up and look outside of the cave as he asked:

"You know the fastest way to go?"

"I went into here enough to knew short cut, but still, since this place can actually change; we may meet some difficult."

"Wouldn't expect any different from the love child of the Trap and the Underworld, would we?"

"I suppose." Rose gave Nero a lopsided smile. "You ready?"

Nero nodded when he walked outside with Rose. It wouldn't take for long before a giant beast came out; with its body looked like a lion but have nine head of a snake and tail like arrow jump at them when a bunch of scarecrow demon surrounded them.

"You took the big guy, I will handle the small one." Rose said.

"Fine by me."

Nero said when he launched himself at the giant beast, from the corner of his eyes he could see another of the scarecrow attacking him and Rose but was stopped by a mutated dark form swallow them down to dust. He saw Rose, gracefully waving her wand like a chorister controlled the whole orchestra in her own beat of music when the mutated form chasing down any demons daring to interfere his fight between him and the beast.

Nero felt the urge to smirk when he slay his Red Queen on the beast body, she knew he needed this, the feeling of the adrenalin pumping in his veins to forget all about this; to be the Nero live in the world where if thing are dead, they stayed dead. The beast was a hard job, Nero breathed out when he felt its hot blood on his shirt and hands when Nero stabbed it on the neck, but he could still finished. It felt good, actually, to kill something and it just stayed dead this way.

He saw Rose was standing not very far smiling at him, surrounded by nothing but a bunch of black dust. Nero put the Red Queen on his back when he walked to him:

"So what do you think? Not at neat as your wand, but still effective huh?"

"Yes, little bit bloody, but very effective." Rose said when she waved her wand to clean out the blood on his face and shirt. "Come, there are many beast to slay here for you."

Nero smiled when he saw Rose technically hovering on air when the mutated being going back into her body and form of what like a smoked wing behind her back. He always wondered where his Devil Trigger so different from Dante and Vergil, but now he felt like he had an answer. Just as a memory appeared in his mind, Nero touched his chest lightly when he remembered the hot blood and tears on his forehead. Inside this chest, was it really just a heart made of flesh or the one that made with gold?

He felt like in that memory, there was something more about it but then he thought it wasn't the time to speak to Rose about it. From just one memory, he knew that his grandpa and great grandmother weren't the kind of crowd whom will not go look for him after not hearing from Rose or just left him at the door orphanage.

Unless they were already dead.

If Nero, whom only knew them through one single memory could guess this then Rose, who had been raised by them would knew this too.

But she still didn't say anything about this.

Not because she didn't care; but because it was too painful for her to accept the truth. Especially when she had to move forward for him. And if Nero busted this bubble of delusion, he didn't think Rose would be able to hold up anymore.

So he had to keep his mouth his shut, for their sake.

For they only allowed to mourn for their family once they get back to their world.


	8. Chapter 7 (Side Story)

Fortuna city, a place where the Legendary Demon Hunter Sparda once resided and ruled for a few decades before he left. Perfect place to start digging about him and where did he went when he just disappeared from the mainstream history. Rose thought that to herself when she drove her golden van to the city, got a lot of eye on her when she entered the city. Well, that to be expected, after all Fortuna didn't get a lot of visitor as the Order require heavily background check and registration to get in here.

Rose wouldn't be able to get in here if her family wasn't wealthy and notorious, as well as their enormous donation to the Fortuna's library.

"Please don't tell me that long dress is the only thing woman wear in this city."

Rose said when she looked out of the window, seriously, it was hot in here and even with her t-shirt and shorts she could barely stand the heat that was beating down on her. But much to her disappointment, seemed like long dress truly the fashion trend in here.

"_Urgh, no wonder grandma hated this place to gut. Their fashion sense is so not hers."_

Rose thought to herself when she parked her car at the parking lot before changed into a long red dress and a gray robe to blend in. Seriously, she had to admire the ability to endure heat of the people of this city. Long dress and robe in this beating sun in the middle of summer, Rose felt like she could just faint in the heat itself.

Luckily, the place where she parked her van was not so far from the library, which is her main purpose in here. Fortuna was an ancient city, not only in fashion sense but also its record of the oldest book on Earth. Especially when the city then was worshipping Sparda himself, Rose hoped to find something more about the hero himself than what the history tell and her grandma colorful words when expressing her dislike about him.

Her father was the one to encourage this trip, much to his mother protest, mainly because he himself was much curious about how his mother seemed to be in so much passion in cursing the hero ever since when he could remember. But he could never do the research properly himself, as getting his girlfriend pregnant at seventeen and then have a gunshot wedding after that wasn't exactly easy to have free time.

Rose on the hand, was quite free when she had already accepted in the college she wanted with scholarship and stuff. So she thought to herself, why not use a year to take a rest and go on a road trip to finish her father work. Sure, it was probably led to dead end like a lot of historian in her father university, but still, Rose can at least call herself try.

"Hello Miss, I am Rose Kavinsky." Rose said when she walked to the librarian, whom sitting in the desk with her white glass and tight bun stared at her with a look of scrutiny and curious the same time. "I have called before on the behalf of my father, Galahad Kavinsky to gain the special permission to read the book in the restricted area."

"I have heard of your coming." The woman said when she looked at Rose. "May I see Id and introduction paper first?"

"Yes, here." Rose said when she saw a golden bracelet on the woman hand. "That is a really exquisite bracelet you have; must have been a wonderful gift from someone special, isn't it?"

The woman temporarily looked at her wrist before she looked at the papers, she said to Rose but this time her tone had soften down a little bit:

"Here is your paper and card to enter the restricted area. Make sure to careful with book in there, they aren't many of them on the world."

"Of course, Miss."

Rose smiled when she took her paper when she walked into the library. This place was huge, Rose thought to herself when she saw selves of book so high that she had to crane her neck to actually she see all of them. The fact that Rose would probably have climb to there in a long dress make she shuddered even more because of the tripping hazard. No, she would just ask some nice gentleman to get it for her if Rose needed some book up there.

Rose wandered around the bookshelves to find all of the book about Sparda himself that she hadn't read yet, the priority was to find books that as old as she could get so she could get the information more precisely. As she went to the section where the corner of ancient book that didn't even get written in the language of this time, Rose saw a flash of white and blue in the corner of her eyes.

That was interesting, there weren't much people in this section, Rose thought. In fact, up until then Rose thought she was the only one. As in her curiosity, she went in there to find out who had the same interest with her.

It was a young man, Rose thought when she saw the tall figure that was quickly going through books and books as a frustration sigh escaped his lips. A very handsome young man, Rose eyes lit up when she saw the piercing blue eyes and white hair swept back neatly.

He was hot, Rose thought when she traced her eyes to his chiseled jaw and long nose. If he didn't have that scowl on his face, Rose bet he would be so much more handsome. So for the sake of seeing something pretty in the close up, Rose went to him.

"Hi, you are looking for the information about Sparda too?"

Rose said to the handsome stranger, the young man gave her a side glance before he kept looking at the book when he said:

"Leave me alone."

"Okay." Rose said when she felt a little offended by the looked that young man gave her like she was a little insect. "But just for your information, I don't think you should read those books. It was written by an author lived in Conga Island in the 13th century when Sparda was in the other side of the global at that time. The only reason he could write about Sparda was to hearing the story about other people, not saying it was incorrect but you could spend more time digging on the book behind you. They were written by the man in the same era and region as Sparda was, I think the info in that book will be more correctly."

"How do you know where Sparda was in 17th century?" The young man now didn't look at her like an insect, but like an insect that spark his interest. Rose didn't know if she should call this an upgrade or not.

"Because my grandma once said that she saw him in there." Rose said when she tried to remember her words. "She said that he was an incompetent moron that couldn't do one job done and ruined her meal at the delicious restaurant."

"What did you just say?" The young man suddenly said in a low voice that made Rose slightly uncomfortable. "Incompetent fool. Sparda."

"The correct word was moron..."

Rose tried to fix it back but it seemed that the handsome stranger just had enough when his vein popped on his forehead.

"YOU INSOLENT FOOLISH GIRL, HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT SPARDA?"

His booming voice just rang into the whole section making Rose slightly jump, before she knew it, a guard had arrived at the scene and furiously said:

"What are you two doing in here? This is the restriction area. Where is your paper?"

While Rose was stumbling took out her card, she heard a swift footstep behind her back and next thing she knew, the guard was quickly chasing down:

"Hey you, where do you think you are going? Stop right there."

Soon, Rose was left alone in the area with her card still in her hands that no one bothered to look. She took a deep sigh when she put her paper back and continue to wander in the book shelves. Grandma did say that her ability to understand things like subtext or hidden meaning was nearly zero, which was something that would cause a lot of trouble for her in the future. Rose sighed at the fact that she got someone kicked out, seemed like it didn't need much for in the future cause then she was already causing trouble.

Rose scratched her head lightly when she took out her stack of books and started to go to the table, but her mind keep wondering about the handsome stranger. She felt bad about him having to go because of her, after all, Rose know what it like to be passionate about a research. She drove all the way here to this isolated island, wearing a long and a robe in this hot summer and all this trouble just because she wanted to do a thorough research on a mysterious hero that portrayed completely different by her grandma and the history.

Rose didn't stay long at the library because her belly had already rumbled because of the heat and her worry about the stranger. She borrowed home some interesting book she found and proceeded to go back to her van, of course after filling her stomach with some of the best food that Fortuna had to offer.

"This is so good."

Rose said when she took the last bite of the dessert she just bought for lunch, if she was at home, her dad would definitely chewed her head for this unhealthy eating. While Rose was going on the, she saw a familiar figure wearing gray rope with his head slightly down to avoid attention making her temporarily stop at her track to stare him down. The hood had covered his face mostly, but Rose could still see his chin stick out and there was no way she could forget that perfect jaw line. Rose rubbed her head lightly before she decided to just head back to the van instead of going to the stranger.

This was foreign city, a young girl like her followed a strange guy in some shady place seemed to be dangerous. Rose was a little daffy according to her grandma, but she wasn't an idiot, especially to danger. Maybe she will bump into him latter in a better place and then she could say sorry later.

But that didn't happen until a week later when Rose decided to change the wind and go the antique book shop that her father recommended on the phone. Rose remembered her eyes had widened about three size bigger when she spotted the handsome stranger, as he saw her too and a scowl appeared on his face when he turned his back on her.

"I am sorry." Rose said when she got close enough to the handsome blue man but not too close for him to felt invaded. "I am so so sorry that I offended you in any mean. And I am sorry that you got kicked out of the library because of me."

"Then leave and never show your face around me anymore."

The young man said to her, not bothering to look at her when he proceeded to read at the book. Rose nodded her head lightly, but decided not to leave before she put some note on the bookshelf:

"This is some note from Sparda when he was staying in our house, I hope it helped you in your research about him. Again, I am so sorry for all the trouble that I cause you."

Rose said when she quickly turned her back and left the bookstore in hurried. The man in blue then looked at the old yellow paper on the bookshelf before took it out into his hand. As he saw the familiar writing on the old paper, the scowl on his face quickly disappeared when the corner of his mouth tugged up:

"Interesting."

The young man then looked out of the window of the bookstore but he saw no sign of the brilliantly shade of red in nowhere. The girl really did gone out of his sight as quick as he said, just right when he realized that she may be the key of what he was finding for. Vergil let out a sigh of frustration when he closed the book, as much as he hated to admit it, the girl was telling the truth about most of the thing.

The author of the book she said to him did write a more authentic and realistic version of story of what he was reading back then. And then there was this note, which was really his father handwriting, although all scribble and looked like a draft of something just came to his mind before completely discarded. But Vergil knew his father, the man would never allow his mind wander around and comfortable to scribble in paper if it was a strange place.

No, it must have been a place where he knew all too well and trust to let himself loose.

But still, Vergil felt an anger rising inside him when he remembered what she said at the library. Insolent girl, no matter of what apology she spilled, he would make sure she paid dearly for insulting his father.

Rose on the other hand was taking a short nap in her golden van; the heat in the Fortuna was getting on her nerve as she could barely stayed out of the street when it was in middle of the noon. Her research for more information about Sparda turned out to be less productive than she thought because Rose was tired of heat and all this layer of clothes on her body. Rose started to regret this trip and even thinking about got out of this island to find some place with the heat less blazing and the fashion sense not, well, cozier than it should be.

As Rose awoke from her nap because of some knock outside the van, she groggily climbed out of her bed when she opened the door.

"Your note is interesting."

"Huh?"

Rose blinked at the handsome young man that was standing before her, her sleepiness still lingered on her mind when she said:

"What are you doing here?"

"You said you are sorry for all the trouble you cause me, but a simple apology wouldn't be enough, don't you think?" The young man said with his chin held high. "To earn your forgiveness, don't you think you should help me with the research about The Legendary Sparda?"

"I supposed." Rose said when she scratched her head. "But, didn't you say you never wanted my face around you anymore?"

"I didn't realize you are useful back then."

"Oh, now you make me feel like I am a tool." Rose said. "That is a really uncomfortable feeling."

"Will you help me or not?" The young man said slightly irritated.

"I also doing some research about Sparda myself, so I guess it would be in a case of two head better than one." Rose slightly tilted my head. "But, you would share your finding with me like I do with you right? Because that was the only way our research could actually get some fruition."

"Depend on if your finding worth it."

"Okay, I will show you."

Rose shrugged when she went into her van, she took out of what like a world map on her table when she brought it to the young man in blue:

"This is my result of working, the marking in red."

Vergil looked carefully when he saw the world map with red marking all over the place with time and place written all over with some name and note. Vergil took his time to do some reading, some of this place he recognized as the place where Sparda was alleged to be.

"You mapped his timeline and place."

"Yes, some of it, but still not done yet." Rose said when she saw the map. "This was just what I could make it where he was in the last century based on what I could read. Sparda had lived for thousands of years and there was a lot of time people missed him out; this was just a fraction of what his journey was on the Earth. And I got a lot of help from my father too."

"Not bad." Vergil said when he looked at the map. "You got a lot of this correct."

"Thanks." Rose said. "Talk about that, I never knew your name."

"Vergil."

"Cool name, like in the poet, my father would love it." Rose said. "I am Rose."

"So if this was the map of last century, there was more?" Vergil said.

"Come in, let me show you."

Rose said when she invited Vergil to her place. His eyes scanned around in her van, where her pillow, blanket and cover were all in the floral pattern.

"Here, I manage to track down into the four nearest century. Before that, it was too blurry and there was so much fiction that I don't have the time to skim it through yet." Rose said when she took out four different map laid on her coffee table.

"How do you find all these place?" Vergil said when he saw red marking in everywhere. "The note of Sparda?"

"Some of them help, but I mainly use the clue in books, songs and poet. Here like this place, Sparda was here in a small village in Navida in the 18th century. No official record was shown to that, but I knew because at that time there was this song written about him. It has the same context of almost every war song, about the fight in the snow, with blood, gore, victory, fire and stuffs. But, in this song there was this line about a purple flower blend in red on the snow under the willow tree."

"And?" Vergil asked in bored.

"And, I have searched the botanic encyclopedia. In the 18th century, there was only three types of purple flower that bloom in the winter and only one type that grow under the shade of the bigger plant such as willow tree. Then I crossed references with the place and time of winter where there was a demon attack in the report of the Order in the past with the place where the flower could live. And when it matched, I found the place Sparda was in that time where he was saving people before he just took up and left without taking a single coin."

"All of that trouble for a place where Sparda didn't bother to stay for more than a week?" Vergil said with disinterest laced in his voice. "Your research is insufficient."

"I wouldn't call it like that." Rose said, slightly feeling offended. "Everyone, human or demon, even the animal are all driven by purpose and will. Sparda is no different, maybe he is just randomly stopped there to save people but it shown that he is care about people. And what if he didn't just go through there to just save people, maybe he was on his way to getting somewhere important and he just convenience stop there to help people before continue to go on his purpose. Either way, I can't really know anything for sure and probably never will, but at least I try to follow the bread crumbs."

"That's how you do your research?"

"Yes, and if you feel like it's not suitable for your taste then we should do it alone." Rose said. "I could still share with you the Sparda's copies of the note and what I know, but you are on your own on this."

Vergil gave Rose a look that she was not sure what it was, it was not a look of annoyance or of an insect like she had seen on his face before. It's something else, but at least it didn't irk her like the other look. Finally Vergil decided to speak:

"You went through all this trouble, do all this research for a person you didn't like?"

"No, I am not the one whom dislikes Sparda. My grandma does." Rose said. "You didn't hear clearly what I said, it was my grandma said it, not me."

"Then what is your purpose for research about Sparda?"

"Well, because my grandma mostly. She is a complicated woman; she said that she hated the cherry tree and yet every year she still go to the cherry blossom festival to watch the tree from a far. But again, she said she hated peach and I never once in my life saw her touch anything that was had even slightest taste of peach in it." Rose put her chin on her hand lightly. "I guess I just wanted to know what kind of 'hate' she had toward Sparda, was it the hate for cherry tree or the hate for peach? Because whatever it is, it surely was powerful enough to keep her boiled in it for decades."

Vergil slightly raised his brow when he heard the girl looked at him with her big black eyes, if he was honest to himself, he was too slightly curious at that woman and his father's relationship. And look at the maps that Rose had, Vergil had to admit, it was a good piece of work even if right now it was not what he was looking for. Vergil had to weight the girl words and the time consuming method that she had; if they were doing this together then no doubt it would took a lot of time and the result may turned out to be nothing. But again, like she said, it could be they traced the bread crumbs that lead to something unexpectedly good.

His father power.

"Yes." Vergil said when he touched his Yamato, his father gift. "Yes, I would be your partner in your research. But if your method proved to be not as useful as I thought it would, then I will leave immediately."

"Fine by me." Rose shrugged; it wasn't like she didn't do this alone until now. "So you have a place in mind where you do your research?"

"Library, before you came." Vergil said with his teeth slightly gritted.

"Oh right, sorry about that." Rose rubbed her head lightly. "How about we use this van as where we research, I could just get the book where we both need at the library to here and then we could read and research about it. I meant, this place was a little small for two but it's still good enough, right?"

"It would work." Vergil said when he looked around the van, it was clean, warm and smell nice. Definitely better than the place where he took shelter in the past.

"Okay, then I already got some book from the library for us to read. Are you okay with poem?" Rose asked.

"I enjoyed them." Vergil asked. "Why?"

"Yeah, poem isn't my thing so you could read it and skim on it on the clue." Rose said when she handled Vergil several old books. "These are the several collections in here that related to Sparda, you could read and research some of them."

Rose saw Vergil passive face slightly light up a little bit when he proceeded to read the books, he really did enjoy poem which complete opposite for Rose, whom fell asleep whenever she read poem or someone read it out loud.

"You handwriting is quite similar to Sparda." Rose said when she saw Vergil's note in the opposite way, which made him temporarily stopped and look at her. "You both have very nice handwriting and distinct way to write the 'i' letter. Nice."

Vergil looked at Rose who reached a bottle of water and take a big gulp of it before continued to read. She was clueless and foolish enough to invite a complete stranger with a sword on his hip into the place where she stayed; sharing her family story to same stranger and didn't seem to be worry that he would have any inferior motive. She would have been dead if it had been anyone else.

And yet the same time she showed an amazing observation to details and notice the smallest clue that lead to the result that he didn't expect to be find. Vergil wondered if Rose was truly clueless as he thought or maybe she saw something about him, and it was she who had the inferior motive about his linage when they first met.

Rose:...You thought too highly of me, I just there because you was a handsome dude, no more no less.

...

"Oh wow, how did you do that?"

Rose said when Vergil carried a whole stack of book, all neatly stacked up into a perfect straight line with just one hand and still walked in a perfect posture. As usual, he didn't even bother to elaborate to her but just put the stack of book on the table:

"Here are all of the books you require." Vergil said. "And your dinner."

"Thank you." Rose said happily when she took the paper bag from his hand. "Oh, you get the right one that I like, on the first time."

"It is hard to forget when you are always rambling about how good it is." Vergil answered.

"But it is good." Rose said when she opened the bag. "You know my motto. Eat well, sleep well is heaven."

"You don't have a lot of ambition in life, do you?"

"No, and I don't get why people got so worked up about so many thing. I meant, we are all alive now and here but the next moment, we could all be dead. So why not enjoy every single moments in life while we could and when we could."

Vergil gave Rose a look, a look that telling that he was completely disagree with her but didn't bother to talk about it. But the same time, a small corner of his mouth slightly tugged up that she thought even Vergil didn't realize it when he opened the book to read. To be honest, Rose didn't think their partnership would last up until now.

It had been over months since they started in this together, to her surprise, they worked really well together. Vergil was actually quite good at understand the subtext and hidden meaning of the Sparda note; she felt like he understood Sparda really well, like he did know Sparda himself hence it got easier to deduct about his reason and decision. Rose on the hand, notice the small detail of the note as well as the other materials to find out about where he was and when, as well as specular his road trail. Combine their effort; they could fill out a lot of the missing time hole in the mainstream history.

So far, they had been found a suspicious time stamp where Sparda had vanished for years before just appeared again insight. Sure, he did that several time before but he never disappeared that long. It was always a short time and when a major demon attack happened, he was always there to save the day. But at this time stamp, he disappeared for a decade, not showing up even when there were several massive attacks that eradicated a few cities before some other demons hunters manage to stop it.

Rose got it that he couldn't be everywhere, but it was weird and out of character for Sparda himself like this to left the world unkempt like this. Even before and after this time point, Sparda was always around to help humanity until his complete disappearance in this modern day. If she had wild guess, Sparda himself must be caught up on something. But the annoy thing was, there was absolutely no record of showing him anywhere around this time point, which by the way, even more suspicious. Sparda was like a rock star at that time, he defeated The Prince of Darkness and his army of demons to defend the human kind. How the hell can somebody like that just suddenly vanished and no one saw him and wrote that down, not even a small lullaby or a single line of poem showed that.

"This is just wrong." Rose said irritated. "He is a famous man, a very handsome famous man according to the legend. How come no one notice him or talk, or write about him for one decade when before that, there was thousands of song described detail of how his hair just waved in the wind as he fight."

"Human tends to not notice things that were obvious before their eyesight."

Vergil said when he flipped the page, his Yamato just laid on the table right next to him. It was official that Vergil had overestimated Rose when he thought she had an inferior motive. The girl was dense like iron and any intention she had, she just spilled it outright of her mouth without thinking which often just about food, clothes and beautiful things. To be honest, Vergil thought that the only reason she even notice him was because his good looking face.

That wasn't strange to Vergil, as human woman was attracted and draw by his look. He had seen many attempt to seduce him from subtle to completely vulgar, and of course deflected all of it. But Rose, she didn't saw him with lust but more like an admiration like when she saw a beautiful painting or piece of jewelry. That was probably why this partnership lasted so long, she was useful and had a completely transparent intention that he wouldn't have to watch his back too much. In even if she had treacherous intention that she hided it so well, Vergil could always cut her puny form down any moment.

But seeing Rose choked on water when she accidently took too big gulp at the same time, Vergil thought to himself, he was overestimating her again.

"How in the world can you survive this long?"

Vergil said when he stood up and slightly patted her back when Rose coughed up, her face slightly turned red when she received the tissue that he gave her to wipe her tear.

"You talk just like my dad." Rose said. "Only he was saying: 'Oh Rose, how could you live when me and your grandma not around?'"

"I can't blame him." Vergil said. "You invited a complete strange man to your van every day and tell him technically everything he needed to know about your family."

"You are not stranger, Vergil. You are my partner."

Vergil paused slightly when he saw Rose smiled brightly at him; her smile was so pure and genuine that it made his heart jumped. How long had it been since anyone smiled like that to him, a smile that completely void of any dark intention that contained only joy and happiness? He could only remember one person that had ever smiled at him like that, a smile of pure adoration and softness.

His mother.

At that moment, Vergil realized something.

Rose was in love with him.

A complete pure and sincere love, one that only a fool like her would have. A love that he never thought he would ever receive from anyone else except his deceased family.

And this fool before him didn't even realize that love yet.

"You are a fool."

"What was that for?" Rose exclaimed. "That was completely random and rude, Vergil."

"Just focused on the book, Rose." Vergil said.

"I was before you told me that I am stupid. Take it back, my score and my scholarship said the complete different thing."

"Not your Literature score and definitely not your Literature teachers."

Rose huffed lightly when she continued to read; that she could not argue with him. Her dad had technically begged her to focus every time he gave her a tutor lesson on her lessons that involved her Literature class. He had said, with tears in his eyes, that as the daughter of a Linguistic professor, she could not fail her Literature class for the sake of her father name. Every teacher said, Rose was a bright girl, as long as it not involved to anything related to Literature.

"Maybe we should track down again the list of where Sparda was before this time point. I meant the guy should not just disappear for any reason at all, not like this."

Rose said, but more like to herself when Vergil just nodded when he was reading a book of poem on it. That was the sign that Vergil was bored and tired from all the reading and he was currently as he said, resting his mind with poem. Rose could rest her mind when she read that, by completely fallen asleep on it.

As Rose checked again all the city that Sparda was said or rumored to be seen before his missing for a decade, she saw something in the landmark.

"Hey Vergil, do you mind reading for me in the book of 'Greatest Construction of the World" and find out that was there something special in the Coseva City?"

Rose saw Vergil leaned back to grab the book before he flipped the page, his brow slightly raised when he said:

"The Tower of Coseva, the tallest one in the Continent built in the last two millenia."

"Oh, how about the city of Aleniem?"

"No, there wasn't anything." Vergil said when he flipped the book. "But hold that thought."

Vergil than continue to lean back on his chair that make it only stood on one foot and shuffle the book when he took out a different book, Rose could never understood how he could do all those thing that was so agile and gracefully. If it was her, Rose would definitely fall flat on her face or worse, had a crack on her skull.

"Here, the city of Alneniem had the Tombs of King Boyer, which was constructed as a tower with many complicated trap in each floor to prevent thieves from entering and vandalizing the king eternal slumber."

"That was the two city that Sparda was seen right before he was gone missing for more than ten years." Rose said when she looked at Vergil . "When were both of towers built?"

"The one Coseva was 3,000 years ago, and the tombs was approximately 2,000 years."

"So can we can consider that Sparda could just be in those city not to save people but also observing all those tower."

"He is not person went into that much trouble just for the sightseeing ."

"Yes, especially after that he was gone and no one see him for a decade." Rose said. "I think he was doing a research about towers. And the fact that he gone for that long made me think, it must be very important research. Maybe he wanted to build one or something like that."

"That would be like what he would do." Vergil said. "Fa...Sparda himself really did research thorough before he started to do anything."

"Right, and I mean, it must have been one heck of a tower for a powerful man like Sparda use more than ten years investigating it. Must have been quite a masterpiece or can be called wonder of the world, and yet, no one heard or even know about it. Unless..."

"Sparda himself was hiding it from the world's eyes."

Vergil couldn't stop the smirk appeared on his face when he saw Rose face lit up with a smile plastered on her face. The room went into silent again when Rose turned back and started to flipping books furiously, something warm and tingly appeared in his stomach made Vergil slightly paused. It was definitely an excitement of finding out a clue of his father power.

But the fact that Rose was the one he was sharing it together made it was even more satisfying.

Before Vergil could dwell on that thought anymore, the wooden cuckoo clock on the kitchen softly rang made Rose stop at her track.

"Look at that, it's midnight." Rose said when she turned to Vergil. "It's late, we should rest now and continue our research tomorrow. I mean, it's not like we are on a dead line or something."

Vergil didn't need to rest; he could fight on days without sleeping and eating but Rose couldn't. The girl motto's was basically involving around sleeping and eating well, so she needed it a lot. Vergil nodded his head when he moved to pull a folding bed out to take a rest.

"Goodnight Vergil."

Rose said when she got into her blanket, along with a click on the lamp when the light in the van went out. Vergil rest his head on folding bed, despite being too small for his height, he still found it very comfortable.

Like it was a home.

"_This wouldn't end well."_

Vergil thought when he closed his eyes, despite whatever his feeling toward Rose, he would have to leave this all behind his back. Because it was not what he looking for.

It was not his true purpose.

Power.

It had always been it, his father's power. He needed power, more power. To be stronger, to bested his brother and be more than his father, to control everything and to protect the things he wanted to protect.

"_Like her."_

Vergil thought when he remembered Rose's smile, so bright and warm, so similar to his mother that it made a dull ache rose inside him. People like her and his mother when involved people like him and his father only got one end.

Death.

So Vergil had decided that as soon as he found what he needed to find, he would have to leave Rose behind. For her better sake.

...

"Vergil. Get in here."

Rose screamed out when she saw demons surrounded them everywhere. Vergil stood there with his eyes narrowed when he lowered his voice at her:

"Get in the van."

"Vergil."

Rose called out in fear when she saw the young man unsheathed his sword as the demons lunged at him. All Rose could see was a flash of silver as Vergil moved with an inhuman speed among the demons. When he stopped, the demons body's was cut into half as he sheathed his sword back.

"Vergil."

Rose ran to him when the demon's bodies started to slowly disappear into dust. She saw Vergil looked at her, a look of pure hate and disgust when he unsheathed the sword and pointed right at her:

"Duck."

Rose immediately ducked down when she heard the sound of sword clashing of something and the smell of the stinks blood filled her nostril as something screeching in her ears. Rose opened her eyes to see Vergil was fighting with what looked like a feline demon with glowing red eyes. The demon then formed itself into a spinning blade with tendrils attacking at Vergil, as he was having a hard time to attack it as its body deflected his sword attack.

Rose had to cover her mouth to muffle a scream bubbled inside her throat when the black spike of the demon hit him right in the chest. But Vergil seemed to pay no mind to it as he continued to use his sword to strike at it; a blue aura suddenly burst out and covered him as his hair turned into the crest with fin, his teeth turned into sharp fang that looked like shark with blue membrane covered his neck.

As Vergil lunged into the demon, she could feel that he was a lot stronger and faster than he was. Rose quickly run and find somewhere safe when she could feel the battle just got even more intense and last thing she wanted was for Vergil to get her as a dead weight.

Rose bite down her lips when she covered her mouth from making the sound of shudder when each time she saw Vergil was wounded by that demon. But it seemed that despite through difficulty, Vergil managed to destroy what looked like the core of the demon before it exploded into small bits.

Rose looked around when she saw no demons appeared any more. She quickly run to Vergil when she saw him was standing there with his glowing eyes and inhumanly sharp fang baring out with his sword held tightly on his hands. Rose hesitantly looked around before she ran to him, she couldn't help but notice how his muscle tighten when she moved up close:

"Vergil, are you hurt? Are you okay?" Rose worried asked when she touched his chest, which was like rock hard. "I saw you got stabbed here so much, but I didn't see any wound and there was this explosion..."

"You are unbelievable."

Rose looked up when she heard Vergil voice rang from the top of her head, how it just a lot deeper and huskier when he was in this form.

"Vergil"

Rose called out his name when her eyes looked at him surprise when she felt his lips on hers; the human lips as he transformed back into his human form as his hands snaked on the back of her head to push it gently to his head before he broke down the kiss. Vergil stared at Rose cheeks slightly turned pink when he grabbed her waist and pushed her into another kiss, a much deeper one.

Rose felt slightly distracted and weird out by the fact that they were standing and making out in the middle of the former battlefield with demons blood splattered all over the place, as any human being would but Vergil didn't seemed to pay in mind in it. In fact, he seemed to be annoy that she was distracted as a small growl emitted from his throat as he kissed her with more force before.

Rose let out a small yelp when she felt Vergil grabbed her bottom before he lifted her up by it. Her legs wriggled out in the air for a moment before she had to wrap it around his waist to keep herself balance; which gave him a smug grin when he squeezed her bottom even more when he opened the van door and dropped her down to the bed.

Ironically the pattern of the bed sheets was white and red roses twisting around, the simple of purity and lust dancing around each other, Vergil amusingly thought when he pushed Rose to the bed and continued to kiss her fiercely. For quite a long time, Vergil felt a hunger, but it wasn't for food but something entirely different. He trailed his lips to her neck, listening intensely to her racing heart when he got up the bed.

He craved for it, for the touch of one female human who were foolish enough to love and care for him even after seen his true form when she should be running and screaming for her life.

Rose felt the heat on her cheeks could just fry the egg when Vergil started to remove his coat and vest as he smirked at her before the rest of his clothes just fallen on the floor.

Sure, they had kissed a couple days before when they found out the term 'Temen-ni-gru' of where Sparda was when he had gone missing and in the heat of excitement Rose kissed him on the cheeks. At first, she thought he would scowl at her for such invasive action but before she could muster any apology, he had kissed her back with a much more passion right on the mouth. After that, they both enjoy their made out session at late night but it was just kissing and holding hand. She didn't think it would be escalated into this quickly.

Vergil removed his gloves so he could feel her velvet skin under his palm when he let his lips traced to her cheek and ears as he whispered:

"You should know better than this Rose, this is what happened when you invited a man to stay at your place." Vergil could feel Rose's body tremble slightly under his touch when he touched her waist. "I wanted to corrupt your innocence, to fill that pretty eyes of your with lust and desire. But only when you allow me to. So would you?"

"_O Rose thou art sick. _

_The invisible worm, _

_That flies in the night _

_In the howling storm: _

Vergil didn't need to hear the answer as he already knew what it was. She loved him, she trusted him, and she accepted what he was just easily without any hesitation. But still, it was lovely to hear that word of consent from her red lips before he claimed it again and took her all the way.

_Has found out thy bed_

_Of crimson joy:_

_And his dark secret love_

_Does thy life destroy_._"_

"Vergil, what was that poem mean?"

Rose asked sleepily when she rested her head again bare his chest, Vergil stroke her long silky hair when he said:

"A pathetic lover."


	9. Chapter 8

Nero took out a light breath when he slayed down a Frost demon, well, more like the last of a pack of them. Rose was behind him, her wings of smoke just got bigger the more demon she killed and absorbed.

"You sure it's just a spell." Nero said when he could see mutated form of Beast just got even more vivid before it came back to her body. "Feel like it was a living creature."

"In some sense, it is." Rose said when she waved her wand. "The way Abyssal worked was to eating the demonic energy that its master controlled it to do in such a quick fashion, the demon couldn't even have time to resist or fight before coming back to the master body to neutralize those demonic energy by magical energy the master born with."

"Is this me, or the part neutralize made the demonic energy sounded like a poison to you?"

"It's not poison, but it was very uncomfortable." Rose said when the wing behind her back disappeared. "Imagine it's like eating a ton of meat at one time, your stomach will feel full and heavy, your body will be very tired and yet the same time you did have some extra energy, naming the next day you probably won't need to eat a lot. But The Abyssal is a lot more dangerous, to untrained body, the demonic energy will probably destroy yourself."

"So are you okay using that?" Nero asked.

"Aw, thank you Nero, you are worried about me. But I am over two thousand years old; my body is anything but untrained."

"Right."

Nero nodded, sometimes Rose youthful outlook made he forget that she was ancient in age. As they moved closer, Nero could see the enormous tree that rose high into the sky that it almost the branch was melting in the red sky. Nero couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance of this tree and the Qliphoth, but he was sure that this was definitely not the Qliphoth for the lack of blood sucking roots.

"Interesting." Rose said when she looked at the branches. "It turned red."

"In the painting you gave me, it was black right?"

"Yes, it was." Rose said when she looked up into the branch. "And it is also feeling more alive. Happier, I dare to say."

Nero chose to not comment on the fact that Rose just said a tree felt happier, but she seemed like the kind of person whom love tree and did live for thousands of years. Rose took a deep breath when she said to Nero.

"When I got there with Olivia, I can only last there for about two minutes before something in the dark knocked me out and killed me with something like a sword." Rose said when she scratched her head. "It's one of the disadvantages of being human, no matter what kind of magic I wield, I would never be able to be as fast or having such a wonderful reflects like you or your dad."

"You are fine." Nero said when he put a hand on Rose shoulder. "You are an Amazing Magician. And this time, you got me, The Devil Hunter."

Rose felt the corner of her mouth raised slightly when feeling her nervousness lightly smaller a little bit. Her son was a strong and brave young man, and even though it hurt that Rose took no part in helping shape the man he was now, she was still so proud of him. Rose touched her chest lightly when she felt the steady golden heart slowly getting faster. She couldn't tell if it was the scare of failing or the excitement of hope getting out here, but whatever it was, it was doing a good job keeping her motivated.

Rose took out her wand when she stopped Nero and silently volunteered to go first. After all, if she died, Nero still got the shot. If Nero died, no one got any chance of getting out of here for the next one hundred years.

Rose blow a small flame on the tip of her wand, she felt a complete darkness covered around her and Nero as they walked on the descending stair toward what like an endless pit of darkness. The only light they had was the one on Rose wand, making them looked more like a moving tartget for whatever hiding in the dark. None of them sure what was down there, but they still head on that, because that was the only embodiment of hope they got now.

Suddenly, Rose felt coldness swift through her ears and before she could even think about anything, a deafening sound of swords clash around each other again her ears. Rose blinked, only to register that the sword that Nero's Red Queen was standing between her neck and something like a smoky black knife that if not looking carefully would completely escaped from eyesight. As the knife retreated, Rose waved the wand around her as the many purple fire started to shot out from her wand and light up the whole place around them.

As the fire light up the whole area, Rose saw many black knives that were surrounding them in the air, hovering and gently vibrating in the air just waiting to strike again.

Except they didn't.

Nero used his sword to hit one of the knives but his Red Queen just went right through it, like it was a smoke.

"It's no use." Rose said when she carefully observed it. "Right now it was vibrating with the frequency that normal physical attack can't hit them."

"You know cause...?"

"I have seen some wild things in here." Rose said. "This trip we go is actually the most normal and peaceful one I have ever gone through."

"How nice to know." Nero said sarcastically. "Why doesn't it attack us anymore?"

"I don't know, maybe because there is light in..."

Before Rose could finish her sentence, she felt a surge of coldness went right on her head but immediately block out by a burst of flame came through her wand.

"Scratch that, it attack any time it want." Rose said when the fire ceased from her wand. "But it seemed like while we couldn't attack them, they couldn't attack us too. And the otherwise, when they attack us, we can strike back."

"So we just stared at them and wait for them to attack at us first?" Nero asked.

"No, we keep going but carefully still observe those things." Rose said when she looked at the knives just hovering in the air. "Hopefully, we could just figure out what their pattern was before we..."

Rose stopped at mid-sentence when she looked at the knives, this time she use her own wand to block one of the knife that was pointing right at her chest. Despite looked like a brown old twig, the wand actually have stability and strength to stand again the dark knife first on, which making Nero winced lightly for his Red Queen that was probably slightly chipped from the earlier attack. Rose's wrist slightly moved when she deflected the knife, she looked at her wand which was completely normal when she said:

"At least I know that it was still no match for this."

"What was it made from?" Nero asked. "I don't think normal wood would be that strong and do all those crazy things shit can do?"

"Hmm, a bone from the hand of the Death itself." Rose turned her head slightly when she looked at Nero. "Another story of our family that I will tell you later when we get out of here."

"And here I thought Sparda had a _history._"

"There are so many forces on the world more powerful that we don't know of, Nero. It's just that they don't bother to show up to mortals or they are extremely good of covering their track, unlike demons."

Rose said when she burst another flame from her wand making the knives froze in the air. Rose got to admit, one she can see them, those thing wasn't so scary at all. Or perhaps, it wasn't so strong this time. Rose tore her eyes from her son's glowing blue aura in the dark as they descending into the stair, despite the occasional attack it were quite easy when the spell and strength needed to beat them was not much. Their speed and surprise attack was quite formidable, but compare to a part-demon like Nero, it wasn't that much.

"Is this me or this had become too easy?" Nero said when they walked down the stair when he occasionally swing his sword at the knives. "I don't know, it felt like..."

"A set up?" Rose said when she nodded. "We are already in The Trap, Nero. It's not like we have any other option."

"I supposed."

Nero grunted when he blocked a bunch of knives heading toward his way. Rose looked slightly paler when blame burst out into a fiery bird and attack any knife getting near her. The more she getting down, the more her heart was beating faster and it wasn't excitement or fear. It was something else, something that she was dreading the whole time.

"Nero, took this." Rose said when she gave Nero her wand.

"Why?" Nero asked hesitantly when a fiery bird grow big enough to cover both of them from any attack. "Didn't you need it?"

"No, it's just an heirloom and something I needed when I was young to focus on my power. But I am not young anymore and it seemed reasonable to pass my family heirloom to my only child."

"Mom, why did you say something like that? Like you..."

"I know that we need to have hope, but it is dangerous in here and I guess I just want to take precaution." Rose smiled at him. "Beside, considered it the first gift that I could give your for all those missing birthday."

"Mom, you shouldn't think like that. Besides, what can I do with a wand?"

"It's not just a wand, not when you don't want it to be." Rose winked at him. "Come on, just think of what kind of weapon you wanted to hold in your hand and you will be surprise."

Nero blinked when Rose words sank in, before he know it, the skinny wand quickly grow bigger and turned into a wooden katana. With all the crazy shit he went through in here, Nero only have a mild surprise when he saw how it looked like a wooden copied of the Yamato.

"Yamato, huh?" Rose said when she shook her head. "Like father, like son I suppose."

"Well, I did miss it a little bit." Nero said when he swung the wooden sword at the knives when the fiery birds retreated. "This is good, light at yet still sharp and strong enough. Almost like the Yamato."

"You could give it a name." Rose said when she moved her finger to let the bird flew around her. "No one in my family ever thought of giving it a name yet."

Nero thought a little bit when he looked at Rose ivory skin and her black hair almost mingled in the darkness within it. He smiled lightly when he said:

"How about Snow White?"

"It's a beautiful name." Rose said when she laughed lightly. "You know, for a guy with rough talk, you seemed to be quite enthrall in the fairy tale. Red Queen in the Through the Looking Glass, The Blue Rose Fairy Book, and now Snow White and the Seven Draft."

"You seemed interesting in those too."

"I loved beautiful people and things which appeared a lot in the fairy tale." Rose hummed when the fiery bird wings spread out in the darkness before it swallowed by the black dagger around it. "I am vain that way."

"Enjoy the beauty of the world is not vain. It's called appreciation of life around you." Nero said when he swung the sword again. "And again, is this me or the more we going down, the less we getting attacked?"

"You are not wrong." Rose said when the fiery bird burst out in millions golden dust when it blew up again the dark knives. "The attack getting weaker down here."

Nero and Rose looked at each other before they both went down. Soon, Nero could see the bottom where the stair ended. To be honest, he was a little disappointed when he realized it was just a normal ground with solid ground and dirt and nothing else. For something seemed to be so scary, Nero at least thought there would be a massive pool of flesh eating black worm or the mouth of some hideous monster waiting to have a piece of them.

Nero looked around when he saw an enormous wooden door sealed before him. No guards, no protector, no nothing. This was not the usual script, Nero thought when Rose examining the door, these kind of thing usually a guard.

"There was nothing on the door, no magic, no spell or ancient language. It just a blank and I dare to say normal door, but since we are in the Trap..."

"Nothing is normal here." Nero said when he put one hand on the door. "You ready?"

Rose nodded when she put one hand on the door before they both pushed the door into. As Rose and Nero walked through the door, they greeted by a sight of a golden cage hanging up in the ceiling, dangling as whatever creature in it was thrashing in it.

As they both walked closer, the creature let out a scream, a high and pitching scream that so loud made Rose and Nero have to put their hand over their ears to protect them from it. As the scream ended and the creature went into its silent thrashing in the cage, Rose looked to Nero to realize there was blood flown from his ear and hers as well.

"That scream, it was..." Nero swallowed hard when he took a ragged breath. "It was painful and excruciating. It just felt like ..."

"Despair." Rose said when she looked up the cage. "Painful and despair."

"As you would be after locking up in this place by your own father for millennium."

Rose and Nero perplexed for a moment when they saw a humanoid figure appeared before them. It looked like it was made from the mass of darkness itself, absorbing every single light that ever hit in it. It was like watching a deep dark pit in the shape of human form, making Nero's hair just stood up in the worst way.

"Inanna, enjoyed the heart I gave you?"

The humanoid said when it reached out his hand with long claws out, Rose immediately push Nero to her back as she said:

"You want to take back the heart you gave?"

"Yes and no." The humanoid let out a sound almost like a chuckle. "I don't think I met you, little one but somehow you are awfully smelled familiar."

"Maybe because I have been staying here for two thousand years." Rose said. "The Trap that you dragged me and countless people in here."

"I was lonely." The humanoid said. "But no one seemed to pass through all those lock that father put on. You two are my first guests in here."

The creature in the cage let out another deafening sound making Nero and Rose hold their ears as pain again engulfed them.

"Fuck this." Nero said when he drew out the Snow White. "Where the hell is the way out here?"

"Your heart is the key, my dear Inanna. The heart that you sold your soul and bloodline for. "

"I am not the fucking Inanna, you fucking asshole."

"Same heart, same soul, same thing to me." The figure said when he looked briefly at Rose. "When I got out of here, I will make sure to see your heart carefully."

"Stay the fuck away from her."

Nero cursed when he flung at the humanoid, the sword struck down at the figure but instead it just got stuck in it as the dark liquid shot out right at Nero chest. Before it could touch his chest, a golden rope pulled him right into Rose's hand.

"Physical hit is not suitable for this type of thing." Rose said when a mutated beast appeared right next to her. "Use you devil trigger, this will cover you."

As the beast lunged at the humanoid with its jaws clamped at its body, Nero used his sword to get a clear strike at it. Maybe it was his imagination, but when both of his sword and the Abyssal of Rose hit the figure, he could sense the darkness in it became lessen. Just a little bit, but still, it still called something.

But when if it was just one of them, the mass of liquid darkness still the same.

Nero took a leap back as the figure turned into a mass of tentacle grew in the back trying to reach to his heart and ripped his heart out if it wasn't for Rose created a ring of fire protect them. Again, what's wrong with the demon kings and tentacle, was that a fetish or something. Urizen and now this.

"We need to strike together at the same time."

Rose nodded her head when the mutated beast flung out with Nero, both attack the figure the same time. Again this time, Nero could see this clearly as the darkness created the figure slightly thinner when both the teeth and the Snow White jammed down its body, as the attack it strike back was slower this time.

"It worked. We need to do that again, only with full force."

Nero said as his blue wings spread out, the Snow White on his hand glowing with golden and blue aura. The mutated beast came back to Rose body and formed a black smoke covered her whole body as a knife as black as night showed on her hand. As they both lunged forward and stabbed the creature with their weapon, the humanoid hollowed out a scream.

A deafening one, but not in pain.

In pleasure.

"Shit."

Nero cursed when his instinct told him of how wrong it felt when the humanoid figure dissipate before them. The sound of metal slowly falling apart when the giant creature on their head getting out, it spoke out a voice, the same voice of the humanoid creature:

"At last, I am free."

Before Nero could say anything, he felt himself being blasted in the wall with Rose when the creature spread its wing before everything went dark.

...

"Wake up child, now it isn't the time to sleep."

Nero jolted awake when he felt a smooth and velvety voice ringing in his ear, he looked around to see Rose was like holding her head when she slowly sit up.

"Teacher?" Rose said when she saw The Hermit sat before them with worrying eyes. "How do you get here?"

"When Moloch gets out, all of the locks in here are destroyed and we are free from our layers." The Hermit said when pointed at what looked like a glass dome on their head. "Free before that things began to consume us away into Moloch body. I managed to get to you two before it consumes you too, but we don't have much time. You two needed to invite the Death to this place."

"You are not making any sense." Nero said when he got up. "How the hell do we invite a fucking Death here? It's not like something in the phonebook or we even have the phone."

"No, you have this." The Hermit said when he pointed it at the Snow White was holding on Nero's hand. "This is from the bone of Death itself when the second golden heart bearer made a deal with it. And now as Moloch are thinning the barrier around this place without getting too strong, now is a perfect time."

"What...?"

"Long time ago, Inanna reign wasn't just ended. No, it ended because her son cannot stand her cruel way of gaining power and made a pact with the Death itself to take his mother life and agreed to use his bloodline as his servants as atonement for his mother sins. The Death then agreed and took Inanna life, as well as leaving behind this bone so that if someone ever insult the barrier of Life and Death like Inanna did, whoever golden heart that wielding it will have the power to invite Death and stop it."

"So how did I do it?" Nero asked.

"Death can only come when there is a dead emerge." The Hermit said when he looked at Rose. "I am sorry, my child. One of you needs to die by the bone for the Death to come and claim your soul."

"How the fuck is you not the one who got kill?" Nero angrily said. "That is the most stupid thing I even heard, you fucking demon..."

"He was already dead, Nero." Rose said when she put her hand on The Hermit but instead went right through it. "He used all of his life force to go here and protect us with this. The person we talked to, it was just a mirage of his will and might."

Nero stared at disbelieve when he saw The Hermit slowly got transparent when he smiled sadly at them. He stared at the sword when it was glowing in golden light then he looked at Rose who was staring at him then the sword.

"Nero, do you trust me?" Rose said hesitantly when she walked closer to him.

Nero looked at the sword on his hand before he nodded, after all everything they went through, he trusted her.

"So gave me the sword, Nero, I promised it will be okay." Rose said when she stood right before him. "Everything will be okay."

Nero watched as Rose put her hands on his, he could feel his finger loosen up on the handle when Rose finger twisted around it. Back in Nero mind, he felt something telling him that there was something wrong with it. He wasn't supposed to be gave the weapon on his hand that easily to someone else like that, even if it was his mother. But the voice in his head was like being muffled as his finger just gave up on the handle when Nero felt his arm throwing limply on his side.

"You use magic on me."

"Yes, something wasn't so supposed to be useful like this, not if you don't trust me. And I am grateful for that." Rose said when she stroked his hair. "I have been here for too long, that I would risk everything just to get out of here Nero. Everything, Nero."

Rose said when she held the sword on her hand and flicked her wrist lightly. Red blood flow out like a stream, turned the ground under their feet into a pool of crimson blood before the golden liquid streamed down like melted gold glowing lightly. Nero felt a small drop of tear when he grabbed Rose body, blood dripped on his hand:

"Why...? Why do you...?"

"Cause I just needed to get out of here, even dead or alive." Rose whispered when she felt in Nero's arms. "And I did tell you, I will help you get out of here."

As Rose took her final breath, Nero let out a scream of despair when a golden light covered everywhere.


	10. Chapter 9

When Nero opened his eyes again, he had seen himself back at the ruined city, just outside the golden van as the sky turned black.

"Nero."

Nero looked up to see Lady and Nico were running to him. Nico immediately the first one to talk when she came to him:

"Where the fuck have been you for the last days, dumbass? Do you know how Kyrie worried for you?" Nico said when she looked at Rose. "Who is she?"

"She is..." Nero stopped when he looked down to Rose, who looked so peacefully with her eyes closed just like she was just sleeping. "She's my mom."

"Your mom?" Nico said. "She is..."

Nico stopped when she saw Nero's eyes when he silently stood up and held his mother body in his arms as he brought her into the van.

"Lady, can you take me to the man that hired me to get here? And Nico, just go home with Kyrie, I don't have the time and energy to argue with you."

Lady nodded when she strap her gun when she got into the driver seat. Nico mumbled something under her breath about 'disappeared for a week' and 'dead eyes' before getting in her own van to drive away. Nero put Rose's hat on the table when Lady looked behind at him:

"You sure she is your mom?"

"Yes." Nero said when he looked up to Lady, whom eyes flickered before she turned away. "Did you know her?"

"Her missing, yes." Lady said when she focused on the road. "She is Rose Kavinsky, sole heiress of the Kavinsky family before she went completely missing. What happened to her family after her disappearance was a tragic, her grandmother died in a strange manner, her dad was rumored have gone mad and killed his own mother before he went into the Asylum and died there. There was a time when every week there was a piece of news about her family gone to the newspaper."

Nero held his head when he heard this, he knew with a kind of person like his granddad, he could not hold long; not when he did something like that. So he gave Nero a better chance at a better home, before he himself succumbed into the madness.

"You seemed to remember her very well, even when she was missing for twenty years."

Nero said, to be honest, he didn't care about all those details. But he needed something, anything to distract him from the reality that his mother just died and laid there right before him.

"It was a big case back then, the Kavinsky family was very wealthy and respected. And the man whom hired me is the one inherited their asset after all the all those thing. He still kept their house and all their photos in the place." Lady said. "It is not easy to forget such a beautiful girl that ended up with the fate tragic like that."

Nero let out a dry chuckle, he didn't know what was it to laugh about but he just did. Maybe because The Trap had taken a toll of him more than he realized. Maybe because it was in the middle of the daylight and the sun still shining and yet the sky had turned black completely, a quite obvious sign for the world was ending. But either way, there was nothing to laugh about, but he just did.

Maybe, he just went insane.

"We are here."

Lady said when she stopped the van before a house in suburban; Nero nodded when he brought Rose body out. Nero stopped for a moment when he looked at the house.

It was a beautiful house, made sense judging about the vanity of the golden heart bloodline. But it was also warm and an oddly familiarity as it brought a small sense of comfort to his wrenching heart after experiencing so many things. He looked down to his mother before he went to the house, at last, he went back to his home for so many years.

"Maraka."

Lady called out when she about to knock on the door but it opened on itself, revealed a handsome young man dressed in black pants, white buttons up shirt and black blazer.

"Welcome back, Nero." Maraka said when he looked at Rose on Nero's hand. "We should get her to somewhere decent."

Nobody said a thing when Maraka lead them to the living room as Nero put down Rose body on the couch. He looked around, only to felt a great wave of pain hitting him in full force when he saw the picture of Rose and her family smiling everywhere on the wall.

His family.

"I cannot imagine what you are feeling right now, Nero." Maraka said when he waved his hand, a chair appeared out of nowhere. "Sit, Nero, you need to sit down on this."

"What is happening, Maraka, you tell me it was a simple job and there was no danger." Lady was the one who first spoke. "You said it was safe."

"It is safe. Because this has been planned from the moment the demons invaded the world." Maraka said when he put his hand on the armchair. "You ever wondered where the First King of Demon went when the first invasion happened?"

"Don't know, don't care, probably dead anyway."

"He is not dead, but was trapped, in the place where time didn't flow and Death is unreachable." Maraka said when he looked at Nero. "But not anymore since the key he forged from the first second he walked on this Earth had come into his hand as the soul and the golden heart of the person who sold it to him finally back in one form. The Trap had been opened."

"So what happened now, when he was realeased?" Nero asked when he took a deep breath. "The world is ending, and we are supposed to fight him to save it."

"The world didn't need you to save it this time." Maraka said. "Not from Moloch, himself."

"Hard to believe you when the sky looked like that in the middle of the day." Lady snickered when she looked up in the black sky.

"Everyone assume that when the darkness released, it will destroy the light and corrupt it completely. And yet they fail to see, when the light shine, the darkness was the thing that disappear." Maraka let out a small sighed when he pour a cup of tea. "We said he was trapped, but it was actually a shield to keep him safe. And now the key had come to unlock the door as the shield had broken completely, both Light and Death could touch the First Born, it was time for a judge to make a judgment for him. A judge that suffered the same pain he did and yet still understands the parenthood love and the wish to protect that his father possessed no matter the cost for his First Born. To decide that he should be protected and live on or to be free and died."

Maraka looked at Rose body was still stayed limped at the couch, his gaze met with Nero just enough so the realization could hit young white hair man before he turned away, looking out the window where the black sky descended everywhere.

...

"Here, go fetch."

Rose run after the red shiny small ball that her grandma threw at a direction, she vaguely heard her father scowled at her grandma about not treating her grandchild like pet, to what she replied something like 'she enjoyed it' and 'it was fun like having a puppy'. Rose paid no mind to that when she happily grabbed the ball and run on her tiny legs to get back her grandma. But because she was running too fast and a little bit clumsy, Rose end up falling on her face. As she about to pop on her hands to get up, she felt a big but yet a gentle pair of hand raise her up.

"Little one, you okay?"

Rose looked up to see a very beautiful man with his white hair swept back and shining blue eyes looked at her. Although his face remained stoic, the gentleness of his voice reminded of her father so she nodded.

"Yes mister, I could stand up myself."

Rose said when she dusted herself, grandma always said that a girl needed to learn to stand up for herself after falling down. That it was okay to receive help, but when there was no help, she also can be able to stand up on her own.

"You are quite something, my boys would have screamed on top of their lung after fallen flat on his face." The man said when he picked that shiny red ball on the grass for her. "This is yours?"

"Yes, thank you mister."

Rose said before she run to her grandma. She saw her grandma shown a weird face, like she was both sad and happy the same time when she saw the beautiful man.

"What are you doing here? Didn't you have a wife and kid at home needed to take care of?"

"I want to visit an old friend of mine."

"I am not old yet." Her grandma said when she flipped her beautiful red hair. "At least compared to you, nothing."

"Of course." The man then looked at Rose. "I see this lovely little one here inherited both your beauty and will. What is her name?"

"Rose."

"Ah, a simple name but still reflected the beauty she would bear." The man asked when he stared at Rose. "How old is she?"

"Four." Her grandma said. "And would you please stop looking at her with that look, it's creepy."

"Pardon me, but I have always wanted a lovely daughter like her to greet me when I come home after a long day. But instead..."

"You got two little devils that fight each other every single minute making you and your wife miserably stopping them from tearing the household apart." The grandma snickered when she put Rose into her lap. "Well, when life gives you lemon, you make lemonade. At least now you could teach those boys how to be a brooding man-devil and doing all those stabbing, cutting and bloody things that you called fighting."

"I supposed." The man slightly smirked when he looked at Rose. "I heard that in the human tradition, when the two household was close as we do, the two side of the family doing something called betrothal at young age like them."

"Yes, and often it was about money and political bonding but never about love." Her grandma said when she stroke Rose's cheek. "And my little Rose deserved love, every single joys and pain that it gave her."

"I am sure she is." The man said when he poured his tea. "But I still think at some point, we should introduce my boys and your lovely granddaughter to each other. Who knows, maybe they could be friend like the way we did."

"Probably. But it is hard to say cause the last time we met was twenty years ago, and you often forget about those trivia things like kid are growing up fast. Like you did with me."

"Yes, I supposed."

Rose blinked her eyes when she was eating the cookies, her dad was going in the house and took a new batch of cookies to give for their new guess. She looked at the man, he was very beautiful and yet, there was something familiar about him. He looked like something she knew, from a long time ago.

"_Vergil"_

The name appeared on her mind making Rose shivered. She then looked at herself again, wearing a red floral dress in the body of a four year old. She turned back to her grandma only to see her disappeared into the thin air along with humming of her dad in the kitchen. Rose blinked again when she realized she was all alone now in the middle garden. No dad, no grandma, no one else.

"Is this hell?" Rose asked herself when she looked at the tiny hands soon become her shaking adult hands. "For me to live the most peaceful moments of my life only get ripped from my loved ones again. If it is, at least tell me what did I do to deserve this?"

"I am sorry, this is actually my doing."

Rose looked up to see the beautiful man now was sitting before her again, she opened her mouth to say:

"Why do you choose this form? You are not him."

"I choose it because it is somewhat familiar with you, and yet not to familiar so it would not bring up too many painful memories for you."

"From what I am feeling right now, I say you are doing a horrible job." Rose said when she felt a sharp pain engulfed her heart. "I am already dead, why can't you just let me rest in peace? What did I ever done to receive this punishment of endless suffering and losing everything."

"I am sorry for all your pain, but it was necessary for you to make the right judgment. And I promise you, after that, I make sure you will be repaid appropriately."

"What Judgment?"

Rose asked but the man just smiled sadly at her before the beautiful garden of her home faded completely away. Rose saw herself along with man standing in the middle of shoreline. The sand was pristine white shining with ethereal light while the sea was a deep dark color of black and completely still likes the surface of the black mirror. As Rose looked up to the sky, she felt her eyes nearly go blind by the powerful light emitted from above that even the sun in the middle of the noon had nothing on it.

"That was the place where I was inspired to create my first child." The man said when he stood next to her, seeing the sea of darkness. "Dark, mysterious and never knew the limit of its own. I have created many children since and love them all, but none could ever surpass my love and fascination for my first. I supposed you could understand it."

"I only have one child." Rose said. "But yes, I guess I could understand what you said. The feelings of both scared and fascination when holding the first life you ever created is something special. So what is the judgment you talk about?"

"When I created the Light, it was just meant to be something beautiful and wonderful for my first born to observe a different form of Life. But I didn't realize then that my gift and my first born power collide greatly together, from something was just meant to be different for my child and turned out to be something completely canceled each other out."

"So when the Darkness meets the Light, not just the Light corrupted but also the Darkness dissipated itself." Rose said. "Hmm, like the third law of Newton."

"Yes." The man smiled fondly at her. "I knew I choose well."

"So is this a judgment where I decide that the Darkness or the Light should be won?"

"No, it's not that." The man chuckled darkly. "My First Born didn't want to fight with the Light, it was never his intention. All it ever wanted was to become one with it, even if it allowed Death to claim it."

"So you put him into the Trap, it was..."

"A protection, from himself." The man said. "I thought that it would give him some time to think about his action and make some sense about it. But it seemed that I was wrong, as time proved that he did not change his mind but even manage to break down the Shield slightly and bringing back the children of Light and Dark to be his companions."

"So all of our loss, our suffering was just because your child was boring during his grounded time and you just...just let him do that."

Rose asked in disbelief when she looked at the man. The man said nothing when he looked out of the black sea before he took a deep sigh and said:

"I would give up everything, even my own life for my child. But I can't and the thinking time has been gone long enough. If it was my choice, he would be locked up for good forever, never able to see the light or reach out to any creation of its again. I just wish him to be alive and that's all."

Rose clenched her fist, she felt like punching him in the middle of the face and calling him by names that made even the most brute sailor be embarrassed for he had let these things happened to her and her sisters. But the same time, Rose could understand his feeling, his wanting and needs to protect his precious child when she herself had given up everything for her own. Instead, she just gritted her teeth when she said:

"You better make sure that whatever you pay me, it must be good."

"I will try my best." The man said when he took a deep breath when he saw the sky above them became black in half, while another still shining brightly with blinding light. "So what is your choice for my son, Judge? Will it be his wish or mine fulfilled?"

Rose said nothing when she looked at the sky that split in half between the two colors of black and white. Why the hell was daddy issue always the things that threaten this world the most, from the Sparda family and now this. And to be worst, Rose had no idea what would happen if she choose one of them.

If she let the son follow his wish, would it mean the end for both of him and her world? If that so, all of effort, all her trying were all gone for nothing.

And the same time, if she let the dad continue to keep his son in the Trap, can she swallow the fact that she put someone have feeling and sentiment to the place for eternity that she would rather die to stay. Even after all Moloch have done to her and all the Sister she knew and love, Rose still couldn't bring herself to immediately push him into a fate like that. Not when she realized he was probably suffered more than her a thousand times.

"Little one, I choose you because you knew what it is like be in his place." The man said when he pointed at the sky and then himself. "And mine. Just because of that."

Rose blinked when she looked up the sky half blacken. If she was him, and that was Nero, then what would she do?

Rose would want her son to alive, no matter what cost, because she believed that as long as he was alive than anything was possible.

Yet, the same time, she knew what it liked to live life so painful and confided that she wanted to be released from it even if it meant dead.

"Do you wish for him to be happy?"

Rose asked when she looked at the man. It shouldn't be her to decide what someone's fate was to be like. Not like this.

"Yes." The man said.

"Then your wish and his shouldn't be any different, am I right?"

The man stared at her for a moment, as his eyes shone with a light of understanding and joy before he laughed out loud:

"Oh dear, I didn't see that coming." The man chuckled. "For me, to learn something like this from a mortal."

"Mortals are full of surprise." Rose said when she smiled back at him. "You know what needed to be done, you always did. It's just that you needed someone to remind you that, that's all."

"I supposed."

The man nodded when he smiled sadly at her, as he opened his arm wide when a great light emitted from his body as the human form he took dissipated into the small dust. She heard a voice, booming and yet so soothing and calming ringing in her ears coming from the great light next to her:

"Come to me, my child."

As the Darkness on the sky draw out and descended to right at the Light next her, she heard something like sound of a bird song came from it.

A beautiful yet dying song that the thorn bird made before it met its demise.

...

When Rose felt herself conscious again, she saw herself small again with her grandma lovingly stroke her cheek when she eating the delicious cookies that her father baked, whom was whistled a song not too far from here. Rose smiled when she bites down the cookies, as the man took a sip of tea when he said:

"Thank you for everything, little one."

"So, what is my repaid?" Rose asked.

"All of your Sister had died peacefully and went to heaven, as we speak. The demons in there go back to their rightful place deemed on their deeds. Your whole family, of course, will be in an eternity of resting and peace. They are living in the one moment where filled of happiness and contempt, like you could be."

"Like I could be? I was in contempt and happiness before you arrived." Rose said when she munching her cookies. "If you just disappear and let me forget all about that, I will be again."

"Like you taught me what my wish truly is, I wish to teach what Life mean for you, or at least a faction of it." The man said when he opened his hand to show her a blue rose. "Life is about progressing, evolving and breaking the limit. Even if in the process, you will endure pain, loss and despair; I believe that the reward you received when you soared out your wings freely and reached beyond the line will be unparalleled. Something that even I couldn't give you."

Rose looked at the Blue Rose, she felt her eyes slightly glistening when she looked at the Blue Rose when she said:

"You think I am capable of living?"

"You will have to find out yourself, little one."


	11. Chapter 10

Nero put the beautiful roses on the white pristine marble little shrine, he never understood the need for grave or tombs as they were just a mediocre stone with carvings on it. But now, he thought that he could understand it slightly. It was not for the dead, but for the living. To cling on the small memories they have on the dead, to be reminded that they needed to continue to live, not for themselves but also the dead.

To honor the sacrificed that they made for them, Nero smiled sadly when he looked at the picture of the beautiful woman, next to the small shrine of the middle aged man whom smiled warmly at him. As Nero walked through the tombs, he saw various small shrine of white marble writing name and put on beautiful pictures of various men and women.

"What can I say; we are vain, even in dead."

Nero smiled at the beautiful black hair girl who was standing next to him, with her arms wrapped lightly at him.

"I only visit a crypt once under the Church of the Order, but it was nowhere like this."

Nero said when he looked around. The place where he was visiting was made white marble laced golden pattern with many beautiful small shrine carved out of the wall, golden light descend from the ceiling from the glowing pearl filled with magical light and the cooling wind blowing from the window bringing a fresh scent of flower and grass of the garden outside the crypt.

"This looked more like a museum with beautiful people all over the place. I mean, it even smelled so good, not the scent of the rotten meat or ashes of the dead."

"We think that our remains aren't as important as our memories left behind, so we just burnt our body and spread our ashes into the sea or river, while make this place pretty and nice to give the visitor a lovely experience."

"That is a very nice thought." Nero said when he nodded at Maraka who was standing before a different small shrine, one that older. "Maybe this should be my resting place than the old and humid place of the Order's cemetery."

"You can always do, after all, this is your family too Nero."

Rose said softly, when she heard Nero left a small sigh when he nodded. As both silently walked out of the crypt, Rose couldn't help but she touched her chest lightly. The golden heart bloodline ended now, as their mission to be the key of the Trap and make the judgment for The First Born had ended rather well. From now on, there will be no more new golden heart bearer ever born into this world.

Rose didn't know how to feel about this, sad that her family legacy had ended after lasting for so long or glad that their souls and bloodline no longer belong to anyone but themself.

Rose took a deep breath when she felt the sun warm on her face, she had returned in here for about a month and yet every time she felt the sun warmth on her face or the wind breath through her ear, Rose couldn't help it but felt like her heart was shaken with wild emotions running around.

Freedom.

Happiness.

Pain.

Scared.

Hope.

And more unnamed feeling coursing through.

And she can't wait to figure out all of that were.

"You know, great grandma sure have a taste for car."

Nero said when he pulled out the key car of the shining red vintage Cadillac parked before them. Rose smiled when she remembered when Nero first saw her grandma's car collection and how his eyes lit up with excitement like a little child first received his long time wished toy, she let out a small chuckle when she said:

"You can take it back to your home with you, grandma has liked seven of that car with different colors and I am not much of a car person."

"Nah, with Nico walking around in my garage touching and messing things around, I felt like it wouldn't last long before something horrendous happened to it." Nero said when he opened the door for Rose. "Let just keep it in your house, and I will keep the key so when I feel like it, I could come and take it."

"Okay." Rose nodded when she sat on the passenger seat. "You know, before we go to your home, could you make a pit stop in the cake shop I told you about? I want to buy some cake as dessert for Kyrie and the kids."

"I don't think we need it, Kyrie had already made a lot of food, even more than the usual when she came back with a load of groceries this morning." Nero said, he guessed she was kind of nervous to meet his mom for the first time.

"Still, I don't want to go empty hand. So please, just a quick stop?" Rose said when she winked at him.

"Sure, we never have too much dessert."

Nero looked at Rose who was smiling fondly when she looked at the view out of the window. She looked better than she was one month ago, when she first came back. That time, when she came back from the dead and sat right up making Lady and him slightly jumped, she was already crying and laughing the same time when she shot right to him and hugged him tightly. Nero thought he was also crying at that moment, with the all over flowing emotion running at that time when his mother came back to him after he thought she was gone for good. After that, when the moment of adrenalin and joy of coming back to life over, both him and his mom faced with the loss they was dealing with.

Rose could barely stand when Maraka tried his best to tell her the fate and sacrifices that her family, and seeing her family photos surrounding her just made things harder. He stayed at her home that night, just to make sure she was okay and he could still hear she was crying herself to sleep. Going home the next morning was hard, but Maraka told him that he would take care of her and point out that he had someone waiting for him too.

When he got home, Kyrie and Nico were already and bombarded him with tons of question, well mostly Nico anyway. And Nero tried his best to explain it to them, not that he thought that he understood it any better than them. As Nero took a long breath after explaining for them the whole ordeal, Nico said out loud:

"Damn, and I thought your father side is messed up."

"Yeah, right, I thought so." Nero sighed.

"Nero, shouldn't you stay with your mother right now?" Kyrie asked gently. "She sounded like she needed you there."

"I don't think that is what she wants." Nero said. "I think right now she is falling down to pieces, and she didn't want me to see it. And I have to respect that, because she deserved to be fallen apart for a little bit after all those things she went through."

"I understand it, she don't want her son to be worried about her." Kyrie said when she gently put her hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling, Nero?"

"I don't know."

Nero said, and honestly, he still didn't know up until now when he saw Rose tilted her head slightly in the back to enjoy the sun hitting on her skin. They were still having a long way to go, but at least, they had each other back now.

"Hi, you must be Kyrie."

Rose said when she was holding her box of cake nervously when she saw the beautiful girl with auburn hair was smiling at her.

"Yes, Miss Kavinsky, I am very happy to finally get to see you."

Kyrie said in the small voice when she hugged Rose lightly, a gesture that she returned herself. Next to her, a girl with light tan skin and long wavy black hair smiled beamy at her:

"Hi Miss Kavinsky, I am Nico, nice to see you. Nero told me all about you and I must say you are a baddass."

"My bottom is..." Rose asked when she looked behind her back and her bottom.

"No, no, Nico means that you are amazing." Nero said when he put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let get inside."

"Okay."

Rose said when she walked inside the house when she was introduced with their lovely house and the three children that they adopted. The evening went on smoothly as all of them chatted about their lives with Rose showed the kid some of her magic tricks. She learnt more about her son's life and the people around him, like how the orphanage that Kyrie was managing, the jobs that Nero had taken recently, Nico's passion in engineer and creating weapon which she sassed about Nero being mean and hard-fisted for not letting her touch the Snow White, saying something about not letting her touch it without Rose's consent first.

"Well if it is that important to you, then I guess you could do some research on it." Rose said when looked at Snow White which was now turned into a wand and stuffed into Nero pocket. "Hmm, it's still has the same power despite everything, so you needed to extra careful for yourself. After all, it is the bone of the Death itself."

"Really?" Nico beamed up. "You are so awesome Miss K."

"You are welcome." Rose said when she drank another glass of wine then she saw one of the children started to yawn. "Okay, maybe now it is the time for the little ones to sleep."

"Will you came back later to show us some more magic trick?"

One of the kids asked, which making Rose smiled fondly of them when she nodded her head and three little stuffed animals appeared on her hand when she was giving it to them:

"Of course, I will. You will see me around a lot."

Rose watched as Nero picked on the kid and brought them to their room, Nico went to her van with the Snow White not before thanking her loudly again. She smiled and waving at the artisan before went back to the kitchen to help Kyrie clean up. Well technically, she just snapped her fingers and let magic do their thing.

"Wow, that is really handy."

Kyrie said when she watched as the dishes cleaned in the water itself when the broom moved on started to dust the floor and the table cloth moving from one place to another.

"Yeah, if my dad was here, he would grumble about how we need to do things on our own and rely on magic too much will be bad for us. And grandma would just say 'blah blah blah' dubbed him in the back."

Rose smiled fondly at the memories before a wave of sadness hit her. She won't see them again, not when she was alive at least. Despite she had existed for two thousand years old, Rose knew that now her life was just actually begun. They wouldn't be with her any more, to be able to see her achievement in life or sharing her joy; to help her on feet when she hit her low or to console her when she fell.

They were both gone, now.

"Are you okay, Rose?"

Kyrie asked in worried when she saw Rose's eyes slight wet, making her immediately tilted her head back to keep the tears and sadness at bay. No, tonight was a perfect night, Rose wouldn't let her grief ruined it. She had let herself grieving for over a month, and despite she still crying in the morning and night, Rose couldn't let herself fallen anymore. Her dad and grandma wouldn't want that.

"I am fine, it's all fine." Rose said when she took a deep breath before she saw the ring on Kyrie hand. "So, I never got to ask but when will the wedding happen?"

"Oh, that." Kyrie said when she touched her ring. "Well, to be honest, we don't know. I mean it has been a crazy year for us with Nero's arms ripped off, the Red Grave city and his dad, and now you... I mean it's wonderful that you came back to us, but I think that right now we have too much on our plate that a wedding would be too much."

"I understand, we all need a little bit of time to think before getting ourselves into something big like that. Look at me, I took a gap year before I went into college because I wanted to be ready for it. But then I ended up with a kid, with a lot more that I can load. And now I am not sure if that is a good example for this topic."

"No, it's okay, I get what you mean." Kyrie chuckled when she sat down to the chair, whereas her table was already cleaned. "Tell me, what is Vergil like? Nero didn't say much about him himself and since the time they spent together was mostly fighting, I don't think he really have much to say."

"I don't think that anyone could really say that they know Vergil, maybe except his brother Dante." Rose took a deep breath when she thought carefully. "From what I can say, he is a stoic ass most of the time, having a serious issue with human contact and expressing his emotion. But when he set his mind about something, he is passionate and relentless about it, willing to break the rule and destroy the obstacles on the way. It could be a good trait, if he learnt about moderation and controlled his thirst, but sadly he didn't. So now he ends up stuck in Hell for probably the rest of life."

Rose didn't mean for her voice to be so bitter but yet, the same time, she did feel bitter. After all, Vergil ditched her in the dust after he used her to get to his father's power and had sex with. And she was a fool that after all this time, still loving him.

"Anyway, there has been something I wanted to ask you about?" Rose said, shrugged away all those negative feeling, after all her ex was already in Hell, literally. "Can you and Nero arrange a day where we all have family photoshoot? The kid can come too, if you want. After all they are family. It's my family tradition to take a photoshoot regularly and I wish to share it with you and Nero."

"A family photoshoot, that's seemed like a nice idea." Kyrie said. "But we are not sure that we can afford the money for a decent photographer, even with all the payment Maraka gave us."

"Don't worry, I will pay, I still have some money from my trust fund and when Maraka done with the paperwork, Nero and I will have even more with our inheritance. Beside, I know this amazing photographer that is a friend of the family, he will cut us some money for the photoshoot."

"Hey, did I hear something about photoshoot?"

Nero asked when he stepped down the stairs, Rose immediately said:

"Nero, I and Kyrie are discussing about a family photoshoot. Do you have any suit in the closet?"

"No, I don't think so." Nero scratched his head. "Never have an occasion for it."

"Then first thing tomorrow, I will take you to this wonderful tailor shop that my dad had his suit made. Oh, take the kid too, they would look so cute in those small suits. But before that, we should decide on the dress code. Nero fitted with black but if we all wear black then it would look like a funeral. And then navy blue is not really complimented my skin tone and dark grey is just..."

As Rose went on about all the different color of the photoshoot scheme, Nero couldn't help it but felt the weight on his heart lifted up when he saw the light of happiness once again shone in her eyes. It would be a long way, but he thought they would be all fine now.


End file.
